Her Ice, His Fire
by weirdwizardvampiregirl
Summary: When Katara and Toph witness the Blue Spirit saving a woman in Ba Sing Se and realize he's a fire bender they hope they found a teacher for Aang. Upon discovering the identity of the masked man, Katara wrestles with new feelings for the young fire bender. (Rated M for later chapters)
1. Ba Sing Se

Katara

Katara wriggled back and forth unable to find comfort in the plush, green linens of her large bedroll at her Ba Sing Se home. She stared at the wood paneled ceiling begging sleep to come, but finding little relief. Their group, or, as named by Sokka, "Team Avatar", entered their second week in Ba Sing Se the next morning. Katara dreaded the rising sun since it was bound to remind her of their continued failure to alert the Earth king of the upcoming solar eclipse. Possibly, the only day to ever exist that would offer the Earth Kingdom the opportunity to take back and win this war against the Fire Nation.

Katara released an audible groan before snapping her mouth shut again, hoping she hadn't woke her housemates. But Sokka's rhythmic snores continued the next room over and silence in the direction of Aang and Toph's rooms assured her of their slumber.

Just as she managed to close her eyes, a small warm figure landed heavily on her stomach. She sat upright in bed, reaching instinctively for the water canteen kept on the floor by her side. Momo's huge, green eyes reflected her own as the creature blinked sadly down at her. She let the canteen drop to the floor and collapsed onto her back again.

"Sorry, Momo, you scared me." Momo responded with a small chortle. It sounded like a sad sound to Katara. The creature usually slept with Aang, but her groan of frustration must have woken him. Instead, he curled up at her side with his tail wrapped over her stomach.

"I know you must miss him," Katara sympathized, speaking of Appa, their lost flying bison. She rubbed behind Momo's large ears. His warm presence actually provided her comfort and she managed to, at last, close her eyes and find sleep.

Sokka, Aang and Katara stood shoulder to shoulder the next morning in front of the rectangular mirror in their large bathroom. Sokka made eyes at the new mustache forming across his upper lip looking more than a bit pleased with himself while Aang shaved his head and rubbed his hand across the blue arrow on top of his head. Katara fixed her hair humming to herself lightly as she carefully placed the distinct water tribe ringlets on either side of her face.

"Toph! Aren't you going to get ready for the day?" She called out.

Toph emerged from her room with a long, sleepy yawn and Katara couldn't help, but jump at the sight of her. She looked suspiciously like one of the swamp monsters they'd encountered some weeks ago, covered in dirt and grim with her hair flying in all directions.

Even Aang, who would be the last to judge a person by their outward appearance winced, "Erm, good morning, Toph!" He attempted brightly.

"Good morning yourself, Twinkletoes", she responded none to kindly. "Seven days in this spirits forsaken place and we're no step closer to seeing the Earth King and defeating the fire nation or finding Appa!"

Katara watched Aang wince out of the corner of her eye at the mention of Appa.

"Hey!" Said Sokka indignantly, "We did make it into that rich people party! At least now we have a better idea of what's going on in this city!"

"And what a _success_ that was," Toph responded rolling her eyes.

Katara winced again her mind flashing back to the disaster that had been the Earth King's dinner party. Not only had they failed to see the Earth King, they'd discovered he controlled very little of his own city and earned themselves a new watchful tail of Dai Li officers. The Dai Li remained at a distance and rarely interfered with the group's day to day activities, but their mere presence put everyone on edge and hindered any plans to rally the Earth Kingdom against the Fire Nation in anticipation for the solar eclipse.

Katara strove to end the tension between the group. "I'm headed down to the Lower Ring to help in the medical tents. Toph, why don't you join me for the day?"

Toph snorted, "What use am I healing soldiers and refuges?"

"I'm sure many people in the Lower Ring would benefit from your, er, positivity," Katara attempted with a hesitant smile.

"I know when you're lying, remember?" Toph scoffed. "But fine."

Surprised by her success and a little nervous to spend the day with an angry earthbender, Katara left the room to pack her supplies for what she presumed would be a rigorous day.

"Toph, water! Ok, bandages…er, no the longer ones, yes, thanks!" Katara held her hand over the festering wound of an earthbender refuge attempting to drive out the infection growing within the wound.

"Your, Highness," Toph muttered so only Katara would hear passing her the indicated bandages. Katara shot her a stern look, but pressed her lips together. Despite Toph's attitude that morning, she'd been helpful throughout the day in the Lower Ring assisting Katara in healing soldiers and refuges alike. In fact, though Katara worried about Toph's brash attitude, it turned out to be exactly what many of the earthbender soldiers needed to cheer up. They traded earthbending stories with Toph and laughed at her reiterations of fighting as the Blind Bandit back in Gaoling.

Katara watched one soldier, fresh from a foot amputation due to a nasty burn smile for the first time in, most likely, weeks as Toph demonstrated one of her favorite fighting stances.

The green medic tents had taken over portions of Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring neighborhoods converting abandoned and dilapidated houses into much needed medical centers with entire streets blocked off to allow healers to work undisturbed with the injured and sick. Katara discovered the medic tents the day after the disastrous dinner party at the urging of their "host". She suspected it was more of a plan to keep at least one of them busy and unable to plot a way to get to the Earth King, however, Katara took to the job with gusto. She felt needed and important when a child recovered from a nasty whooping cough at her hands, parents smiling as they moved to thank her. Or when a soldier came back with a life-threatening burn at the hands of the fire nation, the kind which would never heal properly on its own, but with help from her waterbending all that remained was a small scar.

The Ba Sing Se healers revered her having never witnessed a waterbender heal before. They brought to her the sickest patients and most challenging cases. Katara refused to let them down.

She felt a bit guilty for neglecting Aang and his waterbending training, but, as the first element he learned apart from airbending, he'd nearly mastered all, but the most advanced forms. Instead, most of Aang's time divided between searching for Appa and training with Toph in one of the many Inner Ring earthbending gardens.

Noting the darkening sky, Katara called to Toph. Toph nodded and hurried over to her, "Time to head back?" She guessed.

"Let's get going," Katara agreed.

Packing up their medical supplies the two girls began the long trek back to the Inner Ring.

Only fifteen minutes later and still deep within the Lower Ring, Toph and Katara grumbled to each other about burning calves and sore thighs. Katara reflected that, after months of travel, she should really be more conditioned to a strenuous lifestyle, but walking with Toph provided too good of an opportunity to complain.

They momentarily halted in their grievances as the sound of a woman's scream assaulted their ears.

"Come on!" Toph shouted a step ahead of Katara as they ran toward the source of the scream. For the millionth time, Katara was grateful for Toph's rare ability to use her earthbending to "see" vibrations around her which also allowed her to locate the source of a loud sound quicker than most people.

The woman screamed again and Katara felt in her gut she and her friend would be too late to stop whatever harm befell the woman. She followed panting behind Toph.

"She's in the next alley over!" Toph shouted, "It will take too long to go around all these buildings." Toph stopped abruptly and Katara nearly crashed into her back.

Toph approached the wall of one of the simple, multi-level houses of the Lower Ring. She touched the wall, "Clay!" She exclaimed triumphantly.

Using her earthbending, Toph molded handholds into the side of the building. Feeling slightly guilty for the destruction of property, Katara followed Toph also taking advantage of the earthbended handholds.

Climbing onto the triangle thatched roof, Toph and Katara crawled so they could look down on the other side. Katara realized, just as they looked, the woman was no longer screaming.

Katara made a sound of surprise when she took in the site below her. Said woman stood back up against the side of one of the houses, arms crossed protectively around her swollen belly. In front of her a battle took place. Five large men wearing brown tank tops and ripped pants brandished various size knives and circled around a long figure wearing all black and a blue mask holding dual swords in front of him. They lunged as one but the figure leapt into the air and spun disarming half the men in one swipe of his swords.

"We need to help!" Katara exclaimed. Toph grabbed her arm to hold her back. "Hang on," Said Toph, "Give someone else the chance to play hero. If it goes wrong I'll slide right down this roof."

"Well, so will I," Katara grumbled, but she fixed her eyes back on the fight below her.

The masked figure succeeded in defeating and tying up all but one man. The last man Katara presumed to be the leader of gang and he had more skill with the knife than the others. To her shock, the large man angrily threw his knife on the ground.

"Nice sword dancing, stranger," he growled, "How will you deal with _this!_ " The man kicked into the ground uprooting the earth their and tossing the newly formed boulder at the masked man. Taken by surprise, the masked man didn't move fast enough to block the boulder.

"Oh no!" Katara shouted moving to slide down the roof not caring about the two story fall. She'd barely pulled herself over the edge when the speeding boulder split in half in a blazing explosion of fire.

Katara and Toph's stunned expressions matched that of the gang leader. The masked figure moved smoothly like a ghost between the split boulder capturing the large earthbender's wrists and twisting them behind his back before he could move. The figure then sheathed his swords and turned to the woman.

The woman stuttered with the shock of her savior being a firebender. After a few long seconds she breathed out, "Thank you…."

The blue mask tilted forward in acknowledgment.

Beginning to recover from her shock, a brilliant idea lit up in Katara's head. "Hey!" Katara shouted sliding on her bottom down the roof toward the woman and masked stranger.

The blue mask turned in her direction and, not a moment later, the man disappeared down the alley. Forced to sit on the edge of the thatched roof so as not to break her legs, Katara called after him, "Hey, wait, I just want to talk to you!"

Taking longer to recover from her shock, Toph slid down on her feet to the spot where Katara sat and earthbended a portion of the floor of the alley up towards them. Katara leapt onto the island of land beside Toph who lowered them into the alley.

"Toph! Help me catch him!" She called to her friend as she took off after the masked figure.

The friends sprinted down the alley. "I can't see him anywhere!" Katara scanned the T in the road they'd come to.

"Left!" Toph shouted in response not missing a beat. They ran about five minutes longer Katara now following behind Toph who threw directions over her shoulder as they went.

"Ugh, for the spirits' sake!" Toph stopped and let out a frustrated growl. "I lost him."

"How?" Katara demanded sounding harsher than she'd meant.

"He's jumping between buildings making it harder to track him, I can't see the _air_."

Katara sighed, disappointed. "Katara, why did we go after this guy in the first place? He's a _firebender_ if you didn't notice."

"Exactly!" Katara responded excitedly.

Toph gave her a blank look "Care to explain, Sugar Queen, I'm not following."

"There's a firebender in Ba Sing Se! That must mean he's not with the Fire Nation, he's probably hiding from them same as everyone here!"

"Or he's a spy," Toph continued skeptically.

"I don't think so," Katara continued, "I don't think a spy would waste his time saving people in the dead of night."

Realization began to dawn across Toph's face. "So if this guy is a firebender and he isn't with the Fire Nation then…"

Katara grinned triumphantly, "We found Aang a firebending teacher."


	2. The Blue Spirit

Chapter 2: The Blue Spirit

Toph

Of course she'd agreed to help Sugar Queen find the blue masked figure. Who better than a _blind_ girl to help look for a mysterious masked firebender….safe to say she wasn't thrilled about the prospect of looking, but Aang _did_ need to learn firebending. Preferably, in the next few weeks before they faced the Firelord. Even though the eclipse would take away firebending all together…but that was beside the point.

She and Katara spent the next couple days combing the Lower Level for rumors of a blue masked hero. It turned out he went by the Blue Spirit and the refuges spoke of him with awe and respect. He saved old men from muggers, families from theft, women from assaults.

 _Well good for the firebender_ , Toph thought, begrudgingly impressed and a little glad someone else in this world took it upon themselves to save people other than she and her friends.

Katara and she agreed not to speak to Aang or Sokka about their discovery worried to get Aang's hopes up. They all knew Aang had reservations about learning to firebend, but they also knew how the legends went. They'd all be a little more comfortable with Aang's ability to defeat the firelord if he mastered _all four_ elements.

And as for Sokka, they just didn't want to deal with his grumbling and sure disapproval in going looking for a firebender when they'd traveled across the world to escape from the Fire Nation.

In all honesty, Toph knew despite her blindness she was more than capable of tracking down the firebender. Everyone moved in their own unique way, created their own unique vibrations. Similarly to how she rarely forgot a voice, she rarely forgot the way a person moved, especially, the way a person fought.

Toph trudged through the Lower Level of Ba Sing Se stopping by various tea shops to listen to gossip in hopes of hearing more hints about the Blue Spirit. She wasn't the biggest fan of tea having grown up wealthy and forced to drink the stuff over small talk and business deals beside her parents. By her fifth tea shop she gagged slightly as the liquid hit her throat. She growled in her throat and put the cup down perking her ears up instead.

"This tea is… is tasteless compared to the place I went the other day, Gigi!" A man complained to his likely girlfriend or wife.

"Don't be rude, Hun," His wife shushed him hurriedly.

The man made an exasperated sound and scraping sounds of a chair moving told Toph he was getting up.

"Please, let's go, let me treat you to a real cup of tea," The man all, but begged. The woman made a scathing noise, but before she could refuse the man leaned forward and kissed her hand.

Toph wrinkled her nose at the affection, but the woman sighed happily. "Ok, Ok Hun, show me this other place."

Since she wasn't getting much out her current location, Toph stood to follow the couple out the door, curious if this mysterious tea shop was really a cut above the rest.

She followed them a short distance across dirt streets wincing as she passed homeless refuge families or poor street vendors with handmade goods attempting to make a living. She winced knowing they were all uprooted from their homes, most likely, they'd lost people to the Fire Nation. Every time she walked through these streets it reinforced her resolve to help end this war.

She entered the obscure tea shop shocked to find it bustling with Lower Ring soldiers and a mix of lower and middle ring patrons. Taking a seat as far away from the lovey couple she'd followed as possible, Toph prepared to order her tea.

"May I take your order?" A curt voice reached her ears.

She snorted at the lack of civility in the server's approach, "Oolong, extra hot." Maybe the heat would give her an excuse to delay her sixth cup of tea that day. The server walked away and Toph's heart jumped with surprise. There was something familiar about his steps, the way he shifted his weight. Heart racing, Toph sat back in her seat focusing all her attentions on the server as he moved about the tea shop. She placed a copper piece on the table and waited nervously for his return. She needed to be absolutely positive it was him before going to Katara…

"Why, hello," the friendly voice of an older man reached her ears, "here's your copper piece back, we all need every little bit we possess in these times and I wouldn't take money from an old friend."

Toph jumped up in her seat a smile crossing her face. It was the old man from the woods she'd met during their travels! They'd been exhausted from trying to outrun Azula and she and Aang had fought. She'd run away from the group and met the old man across from her in the woods. He'd calmed her emotions and restored her faith in herself and her friends.

"Hello!" Toph exclaimed brightly bowing her head towards the old man.

"I'm afraid, despite our time together, I never caught your name, young lady."

"I'm Toph, and, may I ask, what's yours?"

"Around here they call me Mushi," He replied brightly.

She smiled as the old man took out a chair across from her and they began a friendly conversation.

...

Katara

Katara sighed as she turned the last corner in the Upper Ring to reach their lush home. She observed the white washed walls and well maintained orange roof. A well-manicured garden of juniper leaves and carnations bordered the stone pathway to the front door. Katara sighed again exhausted from her day's work at the medic tent and disappointed at the lack of leads for the Blue Spirit.

As she approached, the oval door was thrown open. "Home late, again! Jeesh, Katara, I'm tired of begging Yue to watch your back when you insist on staying out past dark." Sokka scoffed from the threshold. In reference to Yue, Katara glanced behind her at the crescent moon hanging in the sky. It provided just the right amount of light in compliment with the Upper Ring street fire lanterns, to give the surrounding luxurious neighborhoods the appearance of a utopia.

Katara shuddered at the thought knowing how far from a utopia the Ba Sing Se upper ring truly was.

"I can take care of myself," She told her brother sharply as she entered.

Sokka only gaped at her, "Every time you're out this late I'm positive the Dai Li got to you!"

"Shhh!" Katara urged her brother casting her gaze around the room to make sure all windows were closed.

"Sokka's right," Aang spoke from where he sat cross legged on the dining room carpet. "We've already lost one member of our family, we can't take any unnecessary risks."

As soon as he mentioned Appa, Katara felt a morsel of guilt. She bowed her head towards Aang then her brother, "You're right, I'm sorry to worry you guys."

She looked towards the quiet kitchen, "Where's dinner?" She asked frowning.

"Well…without you here…" Aang cut off looking more than a bit guilty.

Katara sighed for the third time in five minutes. "You guys couldn't have gotten anything _started_ at least," She moaned.

"Well, why try when we could never live up to your abilities?" Aang sent a guilty smile in her direction.

"Glad you mentioned it though, Sis, I am starving!" Sokka exclaimed as he threw himself onto the rug beside Aang.

Midway through rolling her eyes at her brother, Katara watched an overly eager Toph run out of her bedroom right towards her, "I'll help in the kitchen!" She offered even throwing her hand in the air.

For a moment, she caught Katara off guard with her enthusiasm until she saw the spark of mischief in her friend's milky eyes. They moved quickly away from the boys and into the kitchen.

"Well?" Katara asked immediately as she threw an onion onto the counter, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"I think I found our firebender," said Toph with a smirk. "He's a _tea server_ , how funny?"

"Where?" Asked Katara nearly chopping her pinky off in her impatience.

"Well a _tea shop_ , duh!" Said Toph pulling some purple berries out of their food store. "And the weirdest part is, I know his uncle! He also works at the tea shop and we ran into each other back when we were on the run from Azula!"

"Well that's…unexpected," said Katara frowning, suddenly skeptical. She pushed the feeling to the back of her mind. They'd found the Blue Spirit! They had a shot at getting Aang a firebending teacher.

"We'll go first thing tomorrow morning then," said Katara.

Toph hesitated, "Katara…what if this guy, this Blue Spirit, what if he doesn't want to teach the Avatar firebending? What if he says no?"

Even though she couldn't see, Katara looked Toph directly in her eyes, "He _can't_ say no, we need him."

...

Katara

Toph walked with a bounce in her step, Katara noted. She couldn't tell if it was due to the younger's girl excitement or nerves. She, herself, certainly felt nerves clutching at her stomach. Toph's words from the night before echoed in her head.

 _What if he says no?_

Katara shook her head attempting to also shake away her negative energy. She nervously fingered her hair loops observing the thin streets of the Lower Ring. Considering the amount of time she spent here helping the ill and hurt, the poor conditions shouldn't continue to shock her. However, her stomach still catapulted at the sight of a homeless mother cradling her baby close to her chest, attempting to feed the crying infant from a small, yellow bowl. The infant's arm struck out knocking the bowl out of its mom's arms. The mushy green liquid from within spilled into the dirt street of Ba Sing Se.

Katara veered towards the pair. She flipped the bowl over and waterbended the spilled liquid back into the bowl.

"Don't worry, it's clean!" she assured the mother having bent any dirt or unsavory street particles from the food.

The young mother nodded and bowed her head with thanks. The baby sniffed, seemingly tired of its crying and rested its head against its mother's shoulder.

"Katara, come on!" Toph called to her.

Wishing there was more she could do, Katara ran to catch up with her friend farther down the street.

"Ok," said Toph, "We'll be there in two minutes. Let's just sit in the back and order some tea to start. We'll start some sort of a casual conversation blah blah blah and wait until the guy's not surrounded by anyone before bringing up the whole Avatar and firebending and saving the world thing."

Katara nodded her agreement, palms dampening slightly as they approached the doorway to the tea shop.

Toph walked in like she owned the place. "Mushi! You home?" She called to the back before laughing to herself and leading Katara to an isolated spot in the back of the shop. They'd woken at the crack of dawn in hope of making it to the tea shop before the morning rush and succeeded. Only an older man with a cane and a couple soldiers coming off shift sat enjoying the early morning tea.

Katara rolled her eyes slightly reflecting on Toph's comment a minute ago suggesting they should keep a low profile. A delicious scent of jasmine reached Katara's nose as she settled into her seat beginning to feel a bit more confident in their mission.

"Be right out, my young friend!" A voice called from the back of the shop. Katara's heart skipped a beat. The voice sounded…familiar and it made the hair on arms stand on end. Immediately, her relaxation faded away.

"Where'd you say you know this man from?" Katara whispered urgently towards Toph.

Toph shrugged, unfazed, "Just another traveler on the road awhile back, I told you." She straightened her shoulders, "Don't look right now, but our mystery guy's about to come over here."

Katara forced herself to still, her uneasiness peaking and hand sweating again. For some reason, the urge to grip her water canteen came over her and just as she gripped it in her hand, the server spoke.

"So what tea do you want?"

Now _that_ voice Katara knew anywhere.

 _I'll save you from the pirates._

Katara leapt to her feet sliding into her fighter stance as she turned to face the Blue Spirit.

"Zuko!" She meant to sound menacing when she said his name, but it came out more like a twisted whisper.

The banished Fire Nation prince stood before her. Despite the lack of Fire Nation paraphernalia, there was no doubting those gold eyes and dark hair and _absolutely_ no doubting the scar across his left eye.

* * *

Thank you, to anyone reading! None of this belongs to me (unfortunately). Just a heads up, this story will primarily follow the series outline with a lot of Zutara thrown in! Rated T for now but may change to M later on in the story due to violence and mild sexual situations.


	3. Watching You

Chapter 3: Watching you

Katara

"Zuko?" Asked Toph in shock, leaping to her feet. Zuko looked between Katara and the Earthbender gaping.

" _You're_ the Blue Spirit?" Katara continued incredulously looking at Zuko's ever more surprised face, even the scarred eye widened nearly into a full circle.

"Lady Katara!" General Iroh appeared at his shocked nephew's side. "How _lovely_ to welcome a prestigious waterbender, such as yourself, to our humble tea shop."

Katara's face now matched Zuko's in shock at the gracious greeting.

"Perhaps, we should have a conversation over some nice jasmine tea?" General Iroh continued.

Zuko's eyes narrowed at Katara, "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

" _Me_?" She exclaimed derisively, "You clearly _followed_ us here, so you should know!"

"Perhaps, we should have the jasmine tea out back…" General Iroh gestured toward the door to the back of the store behind the counter.

"Go back there with _you_?" Even though she responded to General Iroh's suggestion her eyes never left Zuko.

"Ughhh," Toph groaned, "Come on, let's get this done." She walked purposefully towards the back door, much to Katara's dismay. General Iroh followed the earthbender with a small, worried smile across his face.

Eying each other as though they were a fully loaded explosive hanging precariously at the edge of a cliff, Zuko and Katara followed the other two into the back.

General Iroh kept up his friendly charade laying four fluffed cushions across from each other in the middle of the kitchen among some fifteen steaming, hot tea pots.

Katara crossed the room to stand beside Toph, as far away from Zuko as the space of the small room would allow. She noted he looked different with his short hair and Earth Kingdom brown tunic and pants. If it were different circumstances, she may even have laughed at the apron tied around his waist.

She'd seen him briefly after the battle with Azula when she'd struck General Iroh with a bolt of lightning, but she'd been so exhausted after days with no sleep, and distracted by the battle, she hadn't entirely taken in his new appearance.

"So _this_ is Zuko," said Toph purposefully eying him up and down even though she wasn't looking at him through her eyes. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

Zuko snarled towards them in response, "What do you want?" He demanded. "Why were you here in our tea shop?"

Katara snorted with contempt, "You follow us all the way into Ba Sing Se and have the _audacity_ to ask why I am in your _tea shop?_ She was shaking with rage and resumed her fighting stance mentally kicking herself for ever dropping it in the first place.

She waited for Zuko to throw the first move, but all he did was stiffen and clench his fists.

"I've learned throughout my many years it never wise to disagree with a lady, but I'm afraid my nephew is genuine in his surprise. We did not follow you here. We are outlaws from the Fire Nation for standing against Azula. We came here for shelter, same as you." Iroh spoke gently towards Katara.

Katara didn't relax and kept her eyes on Zuko who moved his own from her to the floor. "You can't be here," She hissed, "We'll tell the authorities, we'll tell Aang, I'll drive you out myself if I have to."

"Wow, Sparky, never heard Sugar Queen talk like that she must _really_ hate you. You guys got a history or something?" Toph smirked off to the side and Katara swore she heard Iroh chuckle into a tea pot.

Katara ripped her eyes off Zuko towards Toph to shoot her a murderous look the young girl couldn't see. "No offense, Toph, but you weren't with us at first. You weren't there when he"- she pointed an accusatory finger towards Zuko- "destroyed my village, tried to capture Aang and nearly got us killed hundreds of time! You followed us all the way from the South Pole to the North Pole, you _must_ have followed us here too."

Finally, Zuko took a threatening step towards her, "Sorry to destroy the awfully high opinion you formed of yourself and the Avatar, but I did not follow you here!"

"He's telling the truth!" Toph interjected. "I don't think they mean us any harm, Katara."

"Zuko _always_ means harm," Katara spat out her voice shook slightly with anger.

Zuko's eyes flashed with rage. He opened his mouth, but Katara cut him off. "Don't even _try_ to defend yourself! You're the reason Zhao found us and almost destroyed the Northern Water Tribe, you stole my mother's necklace and you tied me to a tree!"

"Hmm, the tree may have been a tad dramatic," General Iroh murmured to himself as if agreeing with her.

Zuko angrily rolled his eyes, "Let it go, Waterbender, I'm not after you or your friends anymore."

"You see!" General Iroh sounded absolutely gleeful, "He's not after you or your friends anymore!"

Katara took a calming breath and relaxed her stance, "Well, then why are you here?"

Zuko's face flushed slightly and he lightly brushed his hand across his hair as if he were embarrassed, "Trying to get away from Azula," He admitted, "I can't defeat her right now and I can't go home so…."

Despite her anger, Katara felt the smallest lump of sympathy for the firebender. She couldn't imagine the feeling of not being allowed to return home to her family, being rejected by them. But her small amount of sympathy didn't outweigh the sins committed against her at Zuko's hands.

"You can't stay in the city, I don't trust you. Leave today and I won't go to the authorities." Out of the corner of her eye she saw General Iroh's face fall and he cast a saddened look around the tea shop kitchen.

"Katara!" Toph snapped. "Don't be ridiculous, we're not kicking _anyone_ out of the city whose trying to hide from Azula."

"Toph, you don't know Zuko, what he's done"-

"I think you pretty much just filled me in these past few minutes. And, sure, I don't know your firebender boyfriend, but I do know Azula. She's ruthless, she'll take them out the minute they're outside the city walls. I owe Mushi-er, General Iroh a friend's favor. I'll vouch for them. If we catch wind of any funny fire business I'll earthbend them out of the city into Azula's lap."

Katara pressed her lips together. She was still furious, primarily, at Toph for making jokes at her expense in front of one of her greatest enemies. "Fine." She allowed, "But Toph and I will be keeping our eyes on you." She glanced towards Toph's milk colored eyes, "Well, maybe not our eyes, but you know what I mean!"

Her gaze went back to Zuko. He looked back at her, lips pressed together and eyes wider than usual, with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat. Use to his anger, she couldn't read the facial expression he currently garnered and frowned back at him.

"Well, this is fantastic," Said General Iroh with a genuine smile breaking the silence, "Jasmine tea, anyone?"

…

Zuko

Zuko paced back and forth in he and his uncle's small two bedroom apartment wincing each time the floorboards creaked (which was often).

"We have to leave the city, Uncle, before the Waterbender lets it slip to the earthbenders they are harboring two traitors from the Fire Nation royal family."

 _Or until the Avatar comes to banish us himself from Ba Sing Se._

Zuko's stomach clenched at the thought. He'd already been banned from his home nation, what would he do if the Avatar banished him from Ba Sing Se, as well? He'd have nowhere to go. He stopped pacing and collapsed to his knees onto the thin, brown cushions his uncle purchased from a local merchant.

"What I am more curious about, my nephew, is how the earthbender and waterbender found us in the first place."

"What _I'm_ more curious about, _Uncle,_ is if you knew the little earthbending girl was related to the Avatar the first time she came in for tea." Zuko narrowed his eyes towards his uncle.

"All men have rights to a few personal secrets," His uncle conceded.

Zuko shook his head feeling slightly betrayed.

"Besides, my nephew, you told them yourself, you're no longer searching for the Avatar!" His uncle struggled to barely contain the hope in his voice.

Zuko sighed and pressed his forehead into his hand. He meant it when he told Katara and the earthbender he wasn't looking for them anymore, but now that he knew they were in Ba Sing Se that could change…

"I hope you're not getting any foolish ideas, my nephew," Uncle Iroh warned softly.

Zuko sighed heavily and looked up towards his uncle who sipped tea comfortably on the cushion opposite him. "Uncle, do you ever think…do you think it's even possible anymore…we would ever be able to go home?"

Uncle Iroh paused in his tea enjoyment and raised his eyes to Zuko's. Before he could respond, Zuko saw the truth in his uncle's eyes and his heart clenched painfully. "Nevermind," He said quickly. He wasn't ready to hear his uncle's answer out loud.

"For now, it's safer for us inside the walls of Ba Sing Se, my nephew, even with the waterbender keeping an eye on us. You know, a good neighbor is better than a brother far off."

Zuko bowed his head in respect towards his uncle, mostly to hide the pained expression on his face, and bid him goodnight. He'd accept their place in the city for a little while longer.

When laying ready for sleep to take him, the image of the angry waterbender played on repeat in Zuko's mind. The degree of hatred in her blue eyes shocked him. He knew he'd done terrible things to her and her friends, but he never hurt them, not really.

He flipped onto his side attempting to chase the uncomfortable thoughts away. It occurred to him just before falling asleep, she'd made him feel guilty. Guilty for what he'd done to her. Gritting his teeth, Zuko slept uneasily that night haunted by angry blue eyes.

…

Toph

"We'll take turns," Katara whispered to her from across the floor. She'd moved her bedroll into Toph's room much to the young girl's dismay. "We'll chart a time table so one of us is checking in on them each hour every day."

Toph groaned, "Katara, don't you think that's a tad, well, extreme?"

"Well, Toph, that's what has to be done when you allow dangerous criminals to live in the city."

Toph pulled her comforter over her ears with a groan. "Are you forgetting how we found Zuko and General Iroh in the first place? Zuko was _helping_ some woman. The Blue Spirit is all over the Lower Level, doer of good deeds. Maybe he's changed."

"Someone like that doesn't change," Katara hissed back.

"Well I'm training with Aang all day tomorrow, so I suppose you should write yourself into that time table for, uh, every hour!"

"That's no fair," Katara whined.

"Well, Katara, that's what has to be done when you allow dangerous criminals to live in the city."

* * *

Thank you to everyone reading! Disclaimer: none of this is mine!


	4. Tea Talks

Chapter 4: Tea Talks

Katara figured Zuko didn't need to be checked up on _every_ hour. She rotated between a few hours at the medic tents and a mug of tea at the tea shop. The first time she entered the shop, Zuko's eyes squeezed into slits so narrow she wondered how he could still see the tea he poured.

"What do you want?" He asked brashly.

"Jasmine," She bit back coldly.

By her third rotation through the tea shop that day, there was no need to speak at all. Zuko wordlessly poured and Katara's only offer of thanks was a nod of the head. By the end of the day, she sported a caffeine headache from tea overload and worried the glare plastered to her face may never come off.

"See you again tomorrow?" General Iroh asked brightly as he waved her goodbye.

"Perhaps," said Katara softening her voice slightly, "Or Toph."

"Wonderful, an old man enjoys good company," He smiled warmly towards her and Katara briefly wondered how Zuko spent years with him without, at least some, of his uncle's good nature rubbing off.

….

It quickly became apparent the vast majority of Zuko snooping would be left to Katara, which she should have guessed seeing as Aang still needed hours of dedicated earthbending practice each day.

By the third day since discovering Zuko was the Blue Spirit, Katara knew more about tea than she imagined possible thanks to General Iroh's dedicated conversation on the subject. Despite herself, she found she liked the former Fire Nation general. It was hard to imagine him as the Dragon of the West, the very man who nearly conquered Ba Sing Se.

As for Zuko, they did best they could to avoid each other at all costs. However, as she became more accustomed to his presence, her level of animosity decreased and she found she finally got the much needed laugh at him in an apron. However, she immediately regretted her lapse in hostility when the man himself plopped down into the seat opposite her.

"Hello," He said cautiously, arms folded tightly over his chest. He'd removed the apron and Katara wondered if he'd finished work for the day and, if so, why he'd chosen to sit across from her versus leaving the shop.

"Hi," She responded coldly.

He paused and looked down at the table frowning, "So, how do you like the…tea?"

"What do you want?" She snapped right away.

He actually jumped in his seat, not expecting the open resentment. Her chest twinged in a moment of guilt.

He narrowed gold eyes at her, "Never mind, then, Waterbender."

He stood smoothly, but Katara surprised herself by calling out, "Wait!"

He paused standing above her, his good eyebrow cocked upward in surprise.

"Did you have something to say, or, want to talk..?" She trailed off lamely and her own eyebrows shot up with surprise when he resumed sitting.

His gaze locked onto hers and her heart nearly skipped a beat. No one could stare into someone's eyes quite the way Zuko could. With a single glance he stripped away layers of armor, like he only needed a look to find her greatest weaknesses. She swallowed, nervous for a reason difficult to explain.

"So you know I'm the Blue Spirit," he said it matter of fact.

"Yes, we saw you, um, rescuing a woman one night. You used your firebending and so we went after you." For some reason, her admission made her blush, as if by acknowledging out loud she knew him capable of good deeds, she was somehow paying him a great compliment.

"You and the earthbender," he nodded to himself then smiled wryly. "I knew I blew it when I used my bending. That's our biggest rule in this city, my uncle and I. No firebending and I always thought he'd be the one to blow it."

"Well you're the one with a temper," Katara shot back, surprised at his comment about his uncle.

To her surprise, Zuko smirked at her comment, "I didn't think he'd blow it _fighting_. Uncle mostly uses his firebending for day to day comforts, primarily, to keep his tea warm. He nearly blew our cover on the ferry ride over here."

Katara's eyes widened. She only witnessed firebending as it pertained to fighting and war, she never imagined it held a purpose in boring, everyday life. She supposed it had been naïve of her, something Sokka would assume. She was a bender after all, she should have kept a more open mind.

"But anyways, I wanted to talk to you because, well, Uncle doesn't know I'm the Blue Spirit. And I'd prefer if you'd, uh, keep it that way. I know he likes to chat with you and the earthbender so, if you wouldn't mind passing it on to her too."

"Toph," Katara reminded him, surprising herself. She clutched her knees nervously under the table too shocked to respond. Zuko asking _her_ for a favor. It took all her bearings to keep her mouth from falling open.

She finally responded after a couple beats of silence, "Your uncle's a smart man, Zuko, don't you think he figured it out."

He shrugged, "Perhaps, but I think he would say something to me if he had. He'd think it's too risky, you know, considering our position here."

Katara couldn't help herself. He'd opened the door and she was curious. "Zuko, why?"

He blinked in confusion towards her. She noticed how the scarred eye opened milliseconds slower than the other. She realized she'd never stared into his face this closely for this long.

"Why the Blue Spirit? Why…help these people? They're earth kingdom!"

Zuko's mouth twisted as if he'd tasted a dish he didn't enjoy. "This isn't an interview, waterbender. Will you do me the favor I've asked?"

She could play that game. "If you answer my question."

"Why do you even care?"

She hesitated. Why did she care? Well, while she didn't consider Zuko evil like his sister, he'd been the monster stalking them across the world for too long for her to have any amount of faith in his moral compass. His actions here in Ba Sing Se disputed all former assumptions made by her about his character as a human being. Heck, he referred to her as a _peasant_ on more than one occasion.

Instead of divulging all of these innermost thoughts she said, "Please, tell me."

He gritted his teeth and looked sideways away from her. She couldn't help, but think his powerful golden gaze was wasted on a wall.

"I trained with dual swords when I was younger. Azula was always the better firebender, so, I wanted something, a specialty of my own, to give me an edge on her. Uncle brought me to training classes among the commoners, but lead by a very talented man who served under him in the war." He shrugged and paused, "I guess I got good. After I was banished, I created the identity of the Blue Spirit. Honestly, the first few times I snuck out, it was just a way for me to get off my ship and explore without everyone looking at my…scar. But I learned masks have advantages. You learn a lot more behind a mask, you can hide in the shadows and people don't see you coming. I didn't use it to help people back then, I used it to pick up hints about the Avatar. Most of the information I got came to me when I was behind that mask, that's how I ended up in the South Pole in the first place, all the rumors pointed to that location."

"But, after Azula began hunting us, Uncle and I split up for a time. I began using the mask as a way to hide my identity and steal supplies to survive. Eventually, I guess all the suffering people and the destruction from the war…I guess it got to me. I used it to help out people in villages I came across to get rid of bullies or bring food to families. I didn't do it because I wanted to change and be a good person or make amends with my past or any of that bullshit I know you're thinking! I just got sick of the suffering, of kids with no food and families with lost sons…" He let up a moment to glance towards Katara. "I guess it's just my way to cope with everything now, my way of staying busy."

"Staying busy." She repeated, as if in a daze.

Zuko nodded firmly, "Yeah."

Then she laughed, it wasn't a true, happy laugh, but more of a strangled sound. She couldn't _believe_ him, the lengths he would go to deny his redeeming qualities, even to himself.

Zuko's eyes flashed with rage. He stood abruptly, throwing the seat backwards onto the ground as he rushed out of the tea shop.

Katara ran after him, catching him just outside the door. She reached out and grabbed his hand to make him stop.

His skin was hotter than her own, the skin of a firebender. Her heart leapt unexpectedly at the contact between them and she dropped his hand.

"What, Waterbender?" He demanded. Underneath his anger, Katara could tell her response hurt him. He'd shared a personal story with her and to have her react with supposed amusement insulted him.

"I just wanted you to know your secret is safe with me."

…

"Enjoying your jasmine tea, Lady Katara?" General Iroh smiled warmly down at her. Katara nodded fervently, like she said, the old general had grown on her and he really did make the best tea in the city.

"I wish I could take a whole batch home with me!"

"Anything for one of our most valued customers." General Iroh bowed. "Just inform me when you're preparing to leave, I'll have a pot ready to go."

A couple hours later, Katara prepared to call it an early night. Sokka would have her head if she continued to show up home in the wee hours of the nights and, honestly, General Iroh and Zuko pretty much convinced her they were harmless.

She approached the counter, observing the backs of General Iroh and Zuko, who appeared in urgent conversation.

"Uncle, we have a problem that girl, she's onto us! She knows we're Fire Nation."

"Well, I think we established, Nephew, that Katara is aware we are firebenders," General Iroh responded with a chuckle.

" _Not_ Katara, you fool, the girl at the corner table!"

"Oh, yes, that girl is in here a lot." Said General Iroh with obvious amusement. "Seems to me she has quite the crush on you."

Katara couldn't help, but glance to where Zuko indicated. In said place a young, pretty Earth Kingdom girl sat. She appeared to drain the last of her tea and approached the counter. Katara stepped aside, allowing the girl to speak with the firebenders first, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Thank you for the tea!" The young girl smiled at Zuko and handed him some copper pieces. "What's your name?"

Zuko hesitated, taken off guard, "My name is Lee. My uncle and I just moved here." Zuko's eyes flickered towards Katara for a fraction of a second as if daring her to step in and denounce his story.

"Thank you, Lee, my name's Jin," The girl responded with the same smile, "And, well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out some time?"

Zuko's look of surprise reflected Katara's own. _How_ could a girl ask _Zuko_ on a date? The very idea was outrageous and yet it was unfolding right in front of her!

"He'd love to," General Iroh interjected on his nephew's behalf and she swore he winked in her direction.

"Great," Jin responded, "I'll meet you in front of the shop at sundown." With that, the pretty Earth Kingdom girl exited the tea shop, leaving Katara alone with the two Fire Nation men.

"One jasmine pot to go?" General Iroh called over his shoulder towards Katara as he left to pack up her order.

Katara found she couldn't quite look at Zuko and instead studied the dented wood on the counter top. Zuko similarly avoided her gaze and they stood in awkward silence until Iroh returned.

"Have a lovely night," He smiled in farewell and bowed.

Katara turned to leave, but to her surprise, Zuko spoke softly to her back, "Have a safe walk home."

Katara couldn't get the girl, Jin, out of her head. The idea of Zuko on a date was, well bonkers! She'd never even been asked on a date! The more she thought of it, the more convinced she became that is _was_ impossible. Maybe, it was all an act! Maybe Jin was another firebender living in secret in Ba Sing Se. Maybe, she and Zuko weren't going on a date at all, but plotting the demise of the city? Yes, she nodded to herself suddenly very certain that was it.

Stopping abruptly in her tracks, Katara scanned the nearby vendors. Finally, she found a kind looking young man who agreed to trade her a long, black cloak for her pot of jasmine tea.

Successful, Katara wrapped the cloak around herself, hoping by hiding her distinct water tribe kimono, Zuko would not notice a tail.

Looking towards the setting sun, she silently apologized to Sokka and Aang. She was in for another late night.

…

So far no signs of anything…firery. She followed Zuko and Jin from the tea shop to an open floor restaurant serving noodles and goat chicken meatballs. The two didn't appear to be plotting anything…yet, in fact, they barely spoke. Zuko sat with his signature frown pushing meatballs around his plate and every time Jin looked up to meet his eyes she blushed. Katara could hardly blame her, she know what it felt like to meet that golden gaze.

Eventually, the two rose and Katara hustled after them.

Jin chatted excitedly at Zuko as they moved quickly through alleyways, Jin leading Zuko by the hand. Katara nearly lost them a couple times and wondered if they spotted her and attempted to move so fast as to lose her.

"Oh no!" Jin exclaimed, "They're not lit." She looked a bit crestfallen. Katara slammed her back into the wall nearly running into the fountain square behind Jin and Zuko.

She watched Zuko's frown deepen, "Close your eyes. No peaking."

Jin nodded and covered her eyes with her hands. Zuko faced the large, dark fountain and took a deep breath. To her shock, he proceeded to send small bursts of fire from his fingertips.

She _knew_ it! Just as she was about to step out of hiding, catching them red handed, she realized where Zuko's flames were aimed. They hit their mark on seemingly hundreds of small candles floating on top of the fountain's water and in tall lanterns surrounding it. The fire caused the water to reflect shades of red, yellow and blue. The small flames flickered when small drops of water hissed by the flames. The sight took Katara's breath away. Fire and water in compliment shimmering back and forth, it was beautiful.

"Open your eyes," Zuko told Jin. He had a small smile on his face, it alarmed Katara to see an expression so genuine cross the Fire Prince's face.

"Oh my! What did you do?" Jin exclaimed smiling ear to ear at Zuko. The girl had a stunning smile. Katara felt a twinge of some foreign emotion in her stomach.

"Um, I brought you a tea coupon," Zuko held up the small slip of paper, a bit shyly. "It was my uncle's idea."

"Your uncle is a good teacher." Jin's smiling face turned slightly more serious.

"I have something for you too, time for you to close your eyes." Jin spoke to a hesitant Zuko. Katara knew it went against his nature to close his eyes in front of a stranger. To her surprise, he obliged.

Jin leaned forward, her face pointed upward. Zuko looked as though he were holding his breath. Katara realized she was also holding hers. Jin and Zuko's lips came together and Katara felt a jolt go through her body, resting in her stomach and triggering nausea. She turned away from the spot and fled down the alley, not even sure why she was running.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has posted reviews and to anyone reading! :) I think I mentioned before, I will primarily be following the events of the cartoon. While staying mostly loyal to the story, I may move some of the gaang's adventures out of order and, of course, include as much Zutara as possible!


	5. Dreams and Discoveries

Chapter 5: Dreams and Discoveries

Zuko

 _Zuko stood in front of the fire lantern fountain smiling at the green eyed girl across from him. Jin was quite attractive, he was a young man, after all, and held an appreciation for a beautiful girl._

 _"Close your eyes," She whispered to him. Their lips came together. Zuko sighed into the kiss, the last time he was kissed by a girl he had been thirteen and it was awkward and he wasn't quite old enough to properly enjoy it._

 _He opened his eyes and green eyes were replaced by blue. "Katara?"_

 _"Zuko," She responded. It was in that way she said his name. It got him every time. He smirked and leaned in to kiss her again, pulling her body close to his._

Zuko awoke with a start. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and his body was warm, even for a firebender. He groaned at the ceiling. Why was he having dreams like _that_ about his enemy? Always the good old universe, out to get him.

He swallowed and buried his face in his hands. He ended his night with Jin pretty much fleeing the scene. They kissed for awhile, sitting at the edge of the fountain. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it, but it felt wrong, like he was lying to her over and over again each time their lips met. She didn't even know his name. He couldn't be with someone who didn't know the truth about him.

Well, no wonder he dreamed about Katara then, she may be the only girl in the city who knew his true identity, Zuko mused.

Katara….well _she_ was a beautiful girl. He rested back on his lumpy bedroll thinking about her large blue eyes, small and strong, but womanly body. Again, he shook his head. Dreams were one thing, but conscious thoughts were out of the question. Besides, Katara despised him. He touched the scar on his face. She'd never think of him as anything other than a monster.

Zuko sensed the rising sun and decided to get an early morning. He washed and dressed missing the luxuries of his youth. He peeked in on his uncle to see the old man snoring soundly, hands folded over his stomach.

Zuko smiled to himself, the old man would be proud when he walked into the tea shop and Zuko had everything prepped for brewing. Being the first one at the tea shop could be relaxing, few people in the Earth Kingdom rose as early as the firebenders. Feeling the first few rays of sunlight across his face was one of the few simple pleasures he took joy in.

Waiting for his uncle to arrive, Zuko sat in front of the shop, face turned up into the sky. He breathed in, letting the sunlight replenish the burning fire inside of him. He missed firebending, he missed practicing his technique and sparring with his uncle or shipmates.

The sound of street animals squabbling distracted him. He looked to where a white rat or lemur (or some combination) came scrambling around a corner followed by three black panther cats. Just as the panther cats leapt to sink their claws into the white, furry creature a man with a large net dove onto the animals. He wrapped them into the strong, brown net grinning.

"Gotcha!" He pronounced triumphantly.

Zuko watched him separate the frightened animals into cages. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the creatures knowing what it felt like to be forced into a cage and taken away from home.

He frowned at the white lemur-like creature feeling as if he'd seen the animal before. He continued to frown at the back of the cart, as the man whipped his ox forward. Just as the cart disappeared from site, his uncle came around the corner.

"Good morning, nephew, such a lovely day it is."

Zuko knew his uncle was more than thrilled about his date the night before. Zuko just snorted in response and they entered the tea shop together to greet the morning rush.

Zuko ran from table to table, attempting to keep up with the demands of the orders coming in. It was an especially busy day and customer service was not his forte. He'd already snapped at one too many patrons and earned many stern looks of reprimand from his uncle. Of course, he could always count on his uncle's good spirits to repair the damage he caused.

He couldn't help, but scan the tea shop for a certain waterbender, but throughout the morning, she never appeared. Even the earthbender stayed away. Maybe, they'd given up on their mission to keep a close watch on his uncle and himself. What confused him was the twinge of disappointment he experienced at his thoughts.

Thinking about the waterbender brought forth a series of memories of chasing the group across the world and, one particularly vivid memory of the Avatar flying away from him, a black and white striped tail flicking back and forth as he receded.

Zuko jumped in surprise, "Of course!" An old couple at the next table looked at him in alarm and he realized he'd spoken out loud. He _knew_ he'd seen the lemur before! He was the Avatar's pet…and Katara's. Most likely the lemur was being sold for meat that very day. For some reason, Zuko felt nervous and guilty. He should at least warn Katara before the animal showed up in her noodles.

"Uncle, I'm going out!" He called towards the back of the store.

"Now?" Asked his uncle, dismayed to lose his server.

"I'll be back in an hour," He hurried discarding his apron on the floor and rushed out the front door before his uncle could argue.

He knew Katara spent time using her waterbending at the medic tents nearby. He'd begin looking for her there.

…

Katara 

Katara frowned, beads of sweat forming across her forehead, as she focused her energy on the lungs of a small infant. The baby coughed weakly and the parents exchanged similar looks of worry.

"It's most likely a simple, common cold," She told them at last. "I healed most of the damage to the lungs, he should be fine," she assured them. Their faces broke into large smiles.

"Thank you, waterbender, you hold miracles in your hands!" They scooped up their infant showering his small face and hands with kisses as they walked away.

Usually, such compliments brought Katara joy, but she was in a particularly sour mood that day. After listening to Sokka storm around the house and reprimand her for her carelessness staying out late in the Lower Ring, she had collapsed in her bed ready to sleep.

She rubbed tiredness from her eyes and yawned looking around for her next project. Her attempts that night to sleep were null and void due to some particularly nasty and vivid dreams about a certain firebender.

 _I'll save you from the pirates._

She had tossed and turned, reliving many of her encounters with Prince Zuko in her dreams, fighting her way out of traps, trying to defend Aang and Sokka from his attacks. But none of the dreams were so horrible as the one when he'd taken her captive and tied her to a tree. She remembered the way he had dangled her mother's necklace in her face, asking her to give away the Avatar's location. As special as the necklace was, she would never betray the trust of a friend for a physical possession.

But in this dream, Zuko smirked, standing across from her, he didn't ask about the Avatar, but he did dangle the necklace in her face.

" _Give it back to me!" Katara demanded, angry and wishing she knew how to waterbend herself out of this mess._

 _"I will, on one condition," The Fire Prince's smirk widened, "Kiss me."_

 _"You?" Katara demanded, disbelieving._

 _"Just one kiss," he confirmed, approaching her._

 _They were face to face only finger lengths apart. She would never kiss him. She_ hated _him, he disgusted her, she…._

 _He leaned yet closer, "Close your eyes."_

 _She did as he told her and she felt his lips press into her mouth. She didn't fight him. Shivers of pleasure spread down her body all the way into her toes._

She'd awoken with her heart beating out of her chest and her toes numb and strangely warm at the same time.

All day, her mind decided to torture her with memories of said dream.

She decided to do a sweep through the soldier's ward, make sure any wounds she'd mended looked healed properly, be thorough and make sure she missed no infection. Just as she entered the green and gold tent reserved for more high-ranking soldiers, a voice called out to her.

"Katara!"

She knew that voice and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Zuko?" For a moment she was only confused, then she was angry. He wasn't allowed to be here. This was _her_ place, her place where she belonged and was important and admired, he could not sneak up on her and ruin it.

"I've been looking all over the place for you," He spoke with a slight nervous edge to his usually assured voice, looking around them at the sick and dying laid out on stretchers.

"What makes you think you're allowed to seek me out at all?" She demanded. She met his gold eyes and immediately knew it was a mistake when the wind was knocked from her lungs. She looked down away from his eyes and towards his lips…that was a mistake too as her dream came rushing back.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her, "You're allowed to sit in my tea shop for days and watch me like a hawk, yet, I come to you _one time?"_

She sniffed, as if impatiently, but really felt a tad guilty for snapping. After all, it wasn't his fault she had decided to follow him on his date, witnessed him kissing his, most likely, new girlfriend and then been haunted by terrible dreams of him. She'd done it to herself.

Pressing her lips together, "I'm sorry," she muttered softly.

He looked surprised by her apology, his non-burned eye forming an oval. Then he forged forward, "Look, I wouldn't come to you if I didn't think it was important, but your, ugh, lemur pet, thing, I think it's in trouble of being, well, eaten."

"What?" She faced him head on, alarm causing her eyes to go wide. "Where'd you see Momo?"

"Momo?" he muttered, as if to himself. Katara felt a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Aang named him, ok? Well, where is he?"

Zuko told her about how he'd witnessed a man taking the lemur and some panther cats captive that morning outside the tea shop, he hadn't realized the lemur belonged to the Avatar until later in the day.

"We have to go after him!" She exclaimed. "Do you know where the man took him?"

"No," he admitted, "But I have an idea. There's a Black Market for everything here in the Lower Ring, my uncle gets his tea sugar off it." He blushed slightly at the confession and shook his head. "There's definitely some illegal meat sales, as well."

"How will we know where to look?" Katara asked urgently, stepping closer to him and, then, realized, with embarrassment, she had included him in her plan to get Momo back. She looked at him sheepishly and pulled at her hair loops. "I mean how will I know where to look?"

"I'll help you, Katara," Zuko offered, narrowing his eyes in seriousness. "Besides, missing house lemur sounds like just the kind of job the Blue Spirit would take up."

Katara couldn't help, but crack a smile.

…

They spent the next hour "interviewing" suspicious butchers in the area. Between Zuko's dual swords and Katara's waterbending, people proved themselves _very_ helpful.

"I thought the Avatar's girlfriend would be above intimidation," Zuko remarked teasing as they made their way to the next butcher shop.

"Of course not," Katara replied flipping her braid over her shoulder, then, she frowned, "Besides, Aang and I aren't dating." The words made her blush. She didn't need to defend any of her relationships with her friends to him, but, somehow, the words just came out.

Zuko looked a bit surprised, but didn't respond. Katara liked how, when they walked and talked she needed to look up towards his face. He was much taller than Aang and even taller than Sokka, despite them looking about the same age. She gritted her teeth and banished the thought from her mind. Even though Zuko proved he wasn't _evil_ like his father and sister, she still shouldn't be enjoying anything about him. He was still their enemy.

He put out an arm to stop her and, nearly walking into it, brought her back to her senses.

"Why are we stopping?"

"I recognize the cart outside this place, that's the one the man used to transport the lemur, um, Momo."

"We'll sneak inside," Katara suggested dropping into a low fighting stance. Zuko fell in step behind her and they approached the side of the butcher house. Katara brought a finger to her lips and indicated towards a small side door.

Sliding against the wall of the butcher house, she reached out with her hand and gently pushed against the door. Turned out the door handle was broken and it slid open easily at her touch. Katara rolled her eyes. To be trading in the Black Market, the butcher really should put some money towards security.

She snuck through the door and Katara marveled at Zuko's ability to maintain silence. He must have at least fifty pounds on her, and yet, she was the one who made the slight creaks across the wooden floor.

They peered out behind a green curtain, towards the front counter. The large butcher came into sight wearing a greasy apron facing a skinny man with a ponytail. They were arguing.

"We agreed to forty silver pieces!"

"Fifty silver pieces or no deal!" The man with the ponytail insisted. The front door had been swung open and, through it, Katara could see the back of the cart where Momo sat curled up in an iron cage.

Katara began swinging her arms wildly, attempting to get Momo's attention. "What are you _doing_?" Zuko hissed in her ear. His warning reached her a moment too late. The large butcher turned to them, "What are you teenagers doing in here?" He brandished a large, curved chopping blade and hobbled towards them.

Katara dashed between him and the alarmed ponytail man, making a beeline to Momo. To her surprise, the moment Momo caught sight of her, he chirped cheerfully and, using his agile paws, unlocked the front of his cage.

"He could get out the whole time?" She heard Zuko exclaim incredulously behind her.

"They're stealing the meat!" The ponytail man shrieked pulling his own thin blade from a pant's pocket. Katara couldn't help, but giggle, the man's indignation reminding her of Sokka.

Zuko pulled his own dual blades from their sheaths on his back, meeting the man. Katara admired the way he moved, smooth and agile, as if in a dance with his swords as his partner.

Momo chirped urgently up at Katara's face using his paws to indicate back towards the cage containing the three panther cats. The animals whimpered, small faces pressed into the iron bars. Momo flew out of her arms, "Momo!" Katara called chasing him through the front door. The lemur flew up to the panther cat cage where they began to purr and whimper urgently. Momo used his tactile paws to flip open the lock of the cage. The panther cats leaped down into the street and made their escape, with Momo chasing after them.

"Momo!" Katara called, "Zuko, come on!" Zuko turned away from where he had the butcher and ponytail man cowering in the corner, and jogged over to her.

"Quick, Momo ran after those panther-cats!" Katara beckoned for him to follow her and Zuko groaned in response.

"Well, you don't have to come!" Katara snapped, but Zuko fell into step beside her anyways. They ran through the streets, hot on the flying heels of Momo who seemed to chirp loudly back at them, as if, making sure they didn't lose him. Katara kept wide, worried eyes in the sky towards where Momo flapped his wings and nearly tripped over the wheel of a cabbage cart, knocking into the wooden structure and sending a dozen cabbages rolling into the dirt street.

"My cabbages!" A morose voice moaned behind them.

At last, Katara turned the corner into a small, poorly kept square. Cobblestone pathways gave out to large, mud patches and a number of small benches leaned precariously on slim, wooden legs. Katara sucked air into her lungs and approached the spot where Momo curled around the three panther cats. Huge, sad eyes met hers and her heart lurched. Momo darted off the spot where he lay and Katara's mouth fell open. A huge, three toed print spanned approximately four feet in each direction. Only one animal alive Katara knew could make that sort of a print.

"Appa!"

* * *

Thank you to everyone reading an reviewing! I really take your comments to heart and consider them in the development of the story. I don't want to rush any Zutara but also don't want to wait too long because I believe chemistry is chemistry so I will allow the characters to decide when it's the right time to heat things up! I will continue to stick to the cartoon series plot line, but with a lot more Zutara. Some chapters will be more loyal to the show than others. Thank you for your time :)


	6. The Duel

Chapter 6: The Duel

Zuko 

The small lemur creature snuggled into Katara's arms, curling into a tight ball as her arms wrapped around it protectively. Katara seemed deep in thought and, occasionally, her lip trembled and she'd squeeze Momo tighter. The cool air whipped through the streets chilling the two teenagers as they walked slowly through the Lower Ring, heading towards the gate dividing it from the Middle Ring. Zuko wasn't sure why he'd offered to walk the girl to the gate and even more unsure when she begrudgingly accepted his offer.

"I have to ask," Zuko broke their silence, "How does the Avatar lose his giant, flying bison?"

"We didn't _lose_ him," Katara snapped, "He was stolen from us! By a bunch of horrible sandbenders, we couldn't help him because we were underground at the time." She cut off quickly. Zuko had the feeling she nearly let some vital piece of information slip before shutting her mouth.

He eyed her and watched her chew on her bottom lip, clearly worried. For a reason unbeknownst to him, he attempted to comfort her, "Well, I'm sure a 3 ton flying bison will turn up. Maybe, he's just enjoying some time off from the lot of you riding around on his back."

Katara smiled wryly, "Appa would never willingly stay away from Aang. They're a bonded pair." Then, she narrowed her eyes towards Zuko, "I presume this is _your_ first time hearing about Appa." The accusation laced clearly in her voice.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You really think I would have helped you with the lemur if I had your flying bison tied up somewhere?"

Katara seemed to allow this excuse sighing loudly. "Well, if you don't have him, I'm afraid it means we have more enemies in Ba Sing Se than we planned for."

"More dangerous enemies than me, even in the Earth Kingdom, impressive." Zuko smirked.

Katara clearly didn't share his amusement. They reached the gate between the levels and Zuko prepared to wave goodbye and head back to where his Uncle waited for him, no doubt upset by his absence, at the tea shop. He stopped upon the feeling of a hand on his forearm. Katara stared up at him with huge, blue eyes and the most peculiar expression on her face.

"Thank you, for helping me find Momo."

Zuko shrugged and swallowed nervously. Having her hand on his arm made him nervous, he wasn't good with casual physical contact. "The lemur would have let himself out of the cage eventually." He hoped she'd let him go, but her hand stayed on his arm and the look in her eyes intensified.

"What would you say if, hypothetically, I asked you to help us find Appa?" Katara observed his expression closely and Zuko struggled to collect his face to hide his shock.

"You want _me_ to help?" Zuko questioned incredulously. "Why? You don't even trust me, waterbender."

"My name is Katara."

Zuko's mouth actually fell open slightly, "Ugh, ok, well, you said so yourself, you despise me, why would you want my help?"

Katara pursued her lips, "I didn't say I hated you."

"Well, in every way other than words," Zuko pointed out, a bit exasperated with the girl.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him, "Look, you tracked us thousands of miles across the world. If anyone has experience tracking Appa, it's you. We've been in Ba Sing Se for almost two weeks now and are no closer. We need Appa back to defeat the Firelord, Aang needs him back for more reasons than just that."

Taken aback by her candor, Zuko nervously ran a hand over his short, dark hair, a nervous habit he'd picked up in the past few weeks. "Look, even though I'm not hunting you down anymore doesn't mean I want any part in helping you with whatever suicidal plan you have to bring my father down."

"All you need to do is find Appa," Katara spoke softly, almost pleadingly.

"Katara, my answer is no." Her name felt good coming off his lips, even if her face did fall at his response. _But definitely_ _not the name of a peasant,_ he silently reflected.

The girl turned without bidding him goodnight and stalked away to the gate only to disappear through them a minute later.

Zuko closed his eyes and groaned. Why would the girl even ask him such a thing? Finding a harmless pet lemur to prevent it from being eaten was one thing, but the flying bison…That beast was crucial to the Avatar's success in evading capture and would be key to whatever planned they managed to piece together to destroy his father. Zuko balled his hands into fists reliving the number of times the Avatar and his friends escaped him on the back of the flying, furry creature. But Katara had been kind to his uncle and himself, not reporting them to the earth kingdom or the Avatar, he owed her. Zuko was not one who liked to feel indebted to anyone and shifted uncomfortably as he began his walk back, deep into the Lower Ring.

….

Katara

Stuffing hundreds of flyers into her handcrafted earth kingdom shoulder bag, Katara attempted to keep she and Aang's spirits up. But the young airbender only frowned, "Do you think we have enough?" His arms struggled to contain another few hundred flyers stacked up almost past his chin.

"Yes, Aang, these flyers are bound to help! Someone in Ba Sing Se must have noticed a gigantic, flying bison!" She forced cheer into her voice, knowing Aang needed it. The past week the young boy had grown more depressed over the absence of his bison, spending more and more time blowing off earthbending practice to fly over the city and search for Appa.

However, Katara showed him the only real clue they had, the embedded footprint of Appa she and Zuko stumbled upon the day before. The footprint gave Aang renewed hope, but, also, renewed sense of loss. That very morning she, Sokka and Toph agreed all plans to see the Earth King or defeat the Fire Nation would be placed on hold until they found Appa. Unable to cope with Aang's anxious energy that morning, Toph and Sokka stayed home while Katara accompanied him to get posters printed. Katara had rolled her eyes at her brother when he pointed out she was best at keeping Aang's emotions in check.

She and Aang struggled not to lose the hard earned posters on their walk back to their home. When a sheet slipped away from them, riding the wind a few feet too far for them to chase after, Katara pointed out the need to leave flyers around the city anyway. Finally, she convinced Aang precise placement of the posters didn't matter and the boy began airbending the flyers every which way on purpose.

They entered their Upper Ring home, "We got posters printed for Appa!" Aang exclaimed, rushing to Sokka shoving one in his face in his excitement.

"Hey, I thought designing the lost Appa posters were my job, I've been working all day on my Appa." Sokka replied indignantly, holding up a drawing of what looked like a jellyfish with a large arrow across its back.

Katara chuckled at the image while Aang replied genuinely confused, "Sokka, the arrow is on Appa's head."

"That _is_ his head!" Sokka exclaimed, clearly disappointed with their reaction to his artwork.

"It looks just like him to me," Toph smirked from where she lay on the floor a few feet from where Sokka sat.

"Thank you, I worked really- why do you feel the need to do that?" Sokka's lips pressed together and he shook his head towards Toph, disappointed.

"We should divide and conquer," Katara changed the subject, eager to get working. Finding Appa's footprint filled her with excitement and hope, she now believed Appa was unquestionably alive and, one way or another, they'd find him.

…

The group spent the next eight, grueling hours trekking through Ba Sing Se, hanging posters at every street corner they passed. Aang even flew above them, at times, letting the flyers sail at will from the sack around his waist and litter the streets below him. Katara struggled to bury her frustration, as her optimism from that morning drowned in a sea of doubt.

As if they hadn't suffered enough from the day, a Dai Li messenger came their door just prior to dinner warning the group to stop hanging flyers in search for the bison. Apparently, without approval, hanging flyers made them "enemies of the state." Fearing Aang may plunge into the Avatar State, Katara grabbed his arm while he yelled at the messenger, "We are doing whatever it takes to find Appa!"

Only when the Dai Li messenger left, visibly shaking from facing down the Avatar, did Aang notice Katara's hand. His facing turning bright red, he muttered, "Ugh, thanks for the, ugh, support, Katara," staring pointedly at where she touched him.

Katara took her hand back and blushed a bit, more for Aang's sake versus her own embarrassment. Hugging Aang or touching him in the arm elicited no response from her body. For her, it felt the same as hugging Sokka or Toph or Gran Gran. However, since the North Pole, she'd noticed a shift in how Aang behaved around her. She noticed how he watched her when she was down to her wraps and they practiced waterbending or how his face always darkened a few shades when she hugged him. However, she chose to primarily ignore his reactions, guilty she couldn't reciprocate any of the suspected feelings.

The only time she'd felt romantically was with Jet, especially, when he kissed her. After discovering he was a monster, even remembering their kisses made her feel dirty and ashamed. She tried to remember another time she responded to a boy. Without warning, the image of Zuko kissing the earth kingdom girl beside the fountain flashed through her mind. Immediately, her heart raced and color spread into her cheeks, she nervously wrung her hands eager for that memory to disappear. Thank the spirits, Sokka and Aang were too invested in discussing the day's search. Toph, however, twisted her head towards Katara, looking surprised and curious.

 _Maybe she thinks it has to do with Aang,_ Katara thought hopefully. The thought of explaining the true reason behind her racing heart to Toph caused her stomach to twist uncomfortably. As much as she tried, Katara couldn't move her thoughts away from the Fire Nation prince. All night she attempted to hide the internal war of hatred and fascination she felt towards the firebender. She knew she was screwed and, the moment they were alone, Toph would demand to know what was going on.

Attempting to make an escape, Katara excused herself to bed early. She closed her door behind her and took a deep breath in facing her dark room. At least the dark hid her red cheeks, maybe she could hide from her thoughts, as well. "Going to make sure Princess doesn't need help getting pretty for bed." She heard Toph outside her door right before the earthbender slipped in behind her.

" _What_ is going on, Sugar Queen?" Toph demanded, "Your heart was racing like a stampede of rhino buffalos all through dinner!" Toph whisper shouted towards her.

Katara sighed and made her way to the bedroom window, throwing open the orange curtains to let the last rays of sunlight into the room.

"You know how I found Appa's footprint?"

"You were chasing after Momo?" Toph replied, but she must have felt Katara's hesitation.

"I wasn't alone," Katara explained, "I was with Zuko. Momo got captured by some loser trying to sell him for meat and, well, Zuko warned me they took him and helped me get him back. Once Momo got free, he lead us to the spot where we found Appa's footprint."

" _Zuko_ helped find Momo?" Toph asked, eyebrows rising, "Knew he wasn't as bad as you made him out to be."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Well he refused to help us find Appa, so he's still bad."

Toph suddenly laughed and, at the sound, quickly used her hand to cover up her mouth, looking towards the door to Katara's room, clearly worried Aang and Sokka heard. She subsequently lowered her voice even further, "Your heart played hopscotch all through dinner because you were thinking about Zuko? Interesting, Sugar Queen."

Katara rolled her eyes and blushed furiously for the third time that night. "I'm thinking about him because I'm so damn angry at him!" Now she whisper shouted. "I allow him to live here and enjoy his life, right under Aang and my brother's noses, because I'm a good person, and, how does he repay me? By refusing my one request for him! Jeesh, the guy demolished my village into a big pile of snow and, yet, has the nerve to refuse the _one time_ I ask him for something." She crossed her arms and huffed.

Toph's eyebrows rose even further up her forehead, "Why do you think Zuko would do a better job finding Appa than us?"

"He tracked us across the _world._ Mostly following hints about Appa, a giant flying bison doesn't go unnoticed." Katara thought of him in the Blue Spirit mask silent and swift, picking up pieces of information with the help of stealth and intimidating dual swords.

Toph frowned, "If you really think this firebender can help us find Appa than we need to figure out a way to convince him." She balled her hand into a fist and rammed it into the palm of her other hand causing Katara to jump slightly in surprise. The aggressive motion jogged Katara's memories of Zuko and an idea sprang to mind.

"I think I can convince him to help us!" She announced, excitedly, to Toph, approaching her and placing her hands on the earthbender's shoulders. She shook her slightly, "Thank you, Toph!"

"Not sure what I did to help, but I'll accept your praise. Let's go get the firebender!"

"No, no, you need to distract Aang and Sokka while I'm gone!" Katara replied urgently already slipping into her shoes and checking the distance from her window to the grass below.

"The sun is already setting and Sokka will _murder_ me if I'm out after dark again."

Toph groaned, "I'm going to murder myself in this spiritsforsaken city, I want a piece of the action!"

"Next time, next time," Katara urged, signaling for her to keep her voice down. "Now, I need to get going and catch Zuko before the tea shop closes. Tell Aang and Sokka I don't feel well and want to be left alone. Do not, by any circumstances, allow them to figure out I'm gone, ok?"

"Fine," Toph replied bitterly and pouted by the door. "You're the queen, Sugar Queen."

Katara couldn't even take offense to the nickname, too excited to carry out the plan she formulated.

…

Zuko

He hated tea. He couldn't tell his uncle, it would break his heart, but Zuko officially decided, after that day, he hated tea. Leaving his uncle to close shop, Zuko sat by the backdoor, contemplating the offer his uncle accepted that day. A wealthy man from the Upper Ring owned a tea shop by the university and wanted his uncle as head tea brewer. He even offered a new apartment for them to live in the Middle Ring. Of course, Uncle Iroh was thrilled and accepted on the spot.

Zuko glared at the dirt street below his feet and felt his stomach clench painfully. That was how he felt lately, like the dirt that covered the streets of Ba Sing Se. A banished prince and heir to a throne he would never occupy, forced to serve tea to survive. He had always harbored a small amount of hope to return home, reclaim his honor and take the Firelord throne. He assumed, as long as he worked hard enough and wanted it badly enough, his uncle would help him. Didn't uncle even _want_ to go back to the Fire Nation? He remembered the look of hesitation in his uncle's eyes from the other night when he asked that very question.

Zuko clench his teeth and buried his face in his hands. His uncle didn't want to go back, he didn't want to help Zuko restore his honor and regain the throne. He wanted to brew at a fancy tea shop in the Upper Ring and live a quiet life in secret, far from home and content to be so. Zuko groaned into his hands. He felt his rage fuel the fire within him, it burned in his lungs and chest, begging to be released. Zuko swallowed thickly and fought down the urge to firebend. His whole body itched to practice his bending, the fire within him restless with suppression from the couple of weeks in Ba Sing Se.

He stood up and clenched his fists, his Blue Spirit mask danced in his head. He could firebend in the mask, no one would know. Heart racing, Zuko began to think up a plan for the night. He could find a good fight, shouldn't be hard in the Lower Ring, after all. Deep in thought, he turned to begin his walk home to his apartment when a voice stopped him.

"Fancy meeting you here."

He looked up to see Katara smirking at him, arms folded and looking quite smug. He noticed the way her dark brown braid hung loosely over her shoulder, the self-assured look in her eyes and the way her soft, pink lips looked curled into a devious smile. Wondering what she had to be happy about, he replied without emotion, "Find that bison yet?"

"No," she admitted and her smirk faltered for a moment, "But we will and you will help us."

Zuko stared at her, surprised by her confidence. How dare she ask him a second time to help her and the Avatar? He already turned her down once. Honestly, he felt guilty for denying her, but his mind was set.

"You hit yourself in the head with one of those water whips? I already told you I'm not helping the Avatar find his bison so he can ride it to the Fire Nation and destroy my home." He narrowed his eyes at her and her blue eyes narrowed back.

"I have a deal to propose, well, more of a challenge."

 _A challenge…_ that got Zuko's full attention. He eyed Katara suspiciously, even checking around her, half expecting the Avatar to duck out from behind a building.

"What kind of a challenge?" He hated falling into her little plan, but curiosity got the best of him.

"A spar, you versus me, a rematch from the North Pole. But this time, if I win, you help us find Appa."

Zuko raised his good eyebrow at her, wondering how serious she was. "But, what if I win, Waterbender?"

"Well, what do you want?" She asked. Zuko stared at her, wondering when was the last time someone asked him what he wanted. _I want to go home…_

"Nothing you can give me." He responded, a moment too late realizing he'd allowed too much emotion in his response. Katara's eyes widened looking at him with something close to…concern?

Zuko shifted uncomfortably, "Look, even if I did accept your challenge, there's nowhere for us to spar in this city?"

Katara cocked an eyebrow, "The Blue Spirit can't think of one spot for a decent spar?"

Zuko subconsciously ran a hand over his short hair in thought. Reflecting on his nights spent racing through Ba Sing Se, Zuko reluctantly acknowledged a few places he could spar the waterbender.

"If I'm caught firebending, I could go to jail for the rest of my life," He snapped towards Katara, even as his fingers itched with heat, eager to release flames.

"Wear the mask then!" Katara encouraged. Zuko glared at her, despite thinking minutes before he could firebend in the mask. Zuko stared at her hopeful expression and he wondered why his help to find the bison meant so much to her.

"Ok, waterbender, let's spar, but don't get your hopes up, I beat you in the North Pole, I'll beat you again here."

"In your dreams, _Zuko_." She was smirking again. He liked the way his name sounded coming from her mouth and found himself smirking back at her, reluctantly excited for the upcoming duel.

…

Zuko fixed the Blue Spirit mask tightly over his face, tying the straps in the back, all the while, observing Katara. She stood across the expanse of cobblestone floor, observing the abandoned ostrich horse stable they settled on for the duel. Most of the stalls were primarily rotted away and the place smelled like the bottom of a shoe after a day of walking through the city. Katara's face was slightly pink from the exertion of filling the old trough behind her with fresh water. She watched him prepare with a cautious expression.

"Choosing to duel me at night to give yourself an advantage?" Zuko mocked, but his voice was mostly playful. "Your plan won't work, I don't need an advantage to beat you."

Katara bent her knees into a solid, defensive position, her eyes narrowed and focused on him. Her attention and the upcoming fight sent shivers of heat through his body. "On my mark," She commanded. Zuko thought she looked beautiful when about to be defeated by him.

Zuko pulled his shirt over his head and kicked his shoes to the side of the table. Earth Kingdom clothes burned much easier than Fire Nation's. He fell into a lithe offensive position, eager to strike.

…

Katara

With the mask over Zuko's face, she couldn't determine his emotions and, she decided, this gave her a disadvantage. Zuko attacked more violently when he was angry, she'd learned from experience, and Katara didn't much feel like healing too many burns on her body.

He pulled his shirt off and kicked off his shoes. She couldn't help when her eyes swept over his body. She tried to remember if she'd seen him without a shirt before. Her eyes raked over defined abs, a strong chest and well developed arms. She'd been aware Zuko was in good shape, but she'd never noticed how _strong_ he really was. She felt additional heat running up her neck into her face.

"Let's go," She motioned with her extended hand, calling the duel on, eager to focus on something other than his masculine form.

To neither of their surprise, Zuko struck first, punching a line of flames straight towards her center. Katara pulled up a wall of water and fire succumbed to steam. Without missing a beat, she pushed the wall of water towards Zuko, attempting to knock him off his feet.

Zuko formed a "V" with extended arms and a sharp line of flames split her wall in half so it passed harmlessly on either side of him. She was pleased to see him shake water droplets from his hair before sending a consecutive line of fireballs her way. Using her feet, Katara danced between the fireballs, the heat of their proximity making her body sweat. Swinging her arms over her head as she moved, Katara flung a line of icy arrowheads at Zuko. Forcing Zuko to use his feet, he dodged the ice daggers and pulled up a wall of flames in retaliation. Using the wall of flames to deflect her water whips, Zuko stepped closer and closer towards her.

Katara backed away from his approaching figure, knowing she couldn't match him in hand to hand combat. She needed to maintain distance between them if she hoped to beat him. She shot freezing water at his feet to slow his advance and succeeded in freezing one to the stone floor. Forcing him to focus to free his leg, Katara took the moment to replenish the water in her water whips. The water flowed powerfully around her arms, twisting and turning at her command towards Zuko.

Zuko managed to melt the ice around his foot in time to jump and evade the whips, rolling underneath them and continuing to approach her. He shot back up to his feet and fire rose around his legs and clung across his body and arms. The twisting flames formed his own type of fire whip. They went blow for blow, water colliding against fire, until tendrils of steam coiled throughout the stable, making it more difficult for Katara to eye her opponent.

All the while, their duel took on a push pull pattern, reminding Katara of the ocean and moon. Zuko made headway towards her, Katara would retreat to regain her strength and then force him back again. They repeated this action until they both panted with the exertion and Katara's arms felt like lead.

Sucking air through her lungs, Katara flung another volley of icicles, only for them to melt upon meeting the flames surrounding Zuko's body. Much of her water supply had evaporated by that time and Katara struggled to complete her larger, more advanced waterbending positions. Trying not to allow Zuko to realize how low her water supply diminished, Katara adopted a more aggressive line of advance, hoping to end the battle quickly. Approaching him for closer hand to hand combat, Katara knew she took a risk, but she was running out of options. Zuko seemed surprise by her advance, but eagerly blocked her attacks, ducking and twirling towards her.

Their forearms met between them, water collided with fire and a loud hiss echoed in the stable as a new belt of steam rose between them. Katara stared into the eye slits of Zuko's mask, wishing she could read the expression on his face. Distracted in her attempt to look through the eye slits of the mask, Zuko wasted no time to press his advantage. Flipping his forearm around hers he gripped tightly on her arm and twisted. Pain stung her shoulder and she attempted to flash her arm around bringing a tight water whip around with her. The whip lashed across the side of Zuko's body leaving a line of red welts behind, but the firebender hardly flinched, reaching for her second forearm and twisting that shoulder as well. His knee collided with her stomach and she doubled over. Zuko pulled her wrists together behind her back, as if about to tie them together and paused. She sucked a deep breath, aware of the way his body crouched close behind her own.

"Looks like I'm two for two, waterbender." He murmured close to her ear. Then he released her arms and stepped away.

Arms now free, Katara swung around, "Please, Zuko, just help us! Help us find Appa!"

Zuko walked away from her towards the opposite corner, pulling his mask off his face and replacing his shirt over his body. With the scarred side of his face exposed to her, he replied, "I won your little challenge fair and square, I don't owe you anything."

"Please, Zuko, help us…help me." He locked golden eyes on hers and a shiver ran through her body.

She thought she witnessed a look of guilt pass over his features, "I'm sorry, Katara, I can't help you."

Disappointed, she rose to her feet. She watched him collect himself and he passed her headed towards the exit, passed close enough she felt the lingering heat from his bending. At the door, he looked back at her, looking like there was more he wanted to say.

Katara straightened her back and attempted to glare at him, but faltered at the apologetic look in his usually piercing gold eyes.

* * *

Longest chapter yet! Hope you guys enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing this one! So my next chapter will follow the show a little more closely than I would usually like, seeing as things obviously need to be changed for the sake of Zutara but I thought the character development done in the show really helped put pieces in place for Zuko and Katara. Thank you for your views and comments!


	7. Finding Appa

Chapter 7: Finding Appa

Katara 

Without leads and without the help of Zuko, Katara wandered the city, hanging their lost posters for Appa. Aang grew increasingly desperate by the hour and spent nearly every hour flying over the city, blowing on his bison whistle. Katara listened to him pace the house all through breakfast and into the morning while they prepared for the day. She herself failed to sleep the night before, thoughts on her spar with Zuko and her own anxiety over Appa.

Katara remembered the look of regret on Zuko's face when he left the old stable following his victory. She wondered what stopped him when he so clearly wanted to help her find Appa. She kicked herself in the butt for blowing the fight, wishing she could go back and switch her strategy. She could have beat him, then he would have been forced to help…Deep in her thoughts, she didn't expect to hear her name called from across the street.

"Katara! I think I can help you." She turned, frowning, unable to recognize the sound of the newcomer. Her mouth fell open at the boy standing before her.

"Jet!" Immediately, she uncorked the canteen at her waist and flung a whip of freezing ice towards him.

"Katara, wait, I've changed!" Jet called, as he attempted to dodge her attack. She responded by drawing the water from a nearby canal into an intimidating wave. Jet's eyes widened and he turned heel and attempted to run, but Katara's wave washed him up against the surface of a nearby wall.

Staring at his rather handsome face, corn stalk hanging out of his worried mouth, Katara felt a flash of rage and embarrassment. "Tell it to some other girl, Jet." She threw a number of ice daggers his way which he used his dual hooks to block. While Jet proved a very good fighter, Katara noticed how he couldn't wield his dual hooks with the same grace or efficiency as Zuko wielded his dual blades. Blushing even more realizing she was comparing Zuko to Jet, she threw a second round of ice daggers which hit their mark nailing him, again, to the wall of the building.

"Katara, what's going on?" Katara glanced behind her to see Sokka, Toph and Aang rushing down the street towards her.

"Jet's back," She snapped towards her brother, eyes narrowed at where Jet stood still pinned to the wall.

"But we don't even know why he's here," Sokka attempted to soothe her reaching out with one hand.

"I don't care why he's here! Whatever the reason, it can't be good." Katara narrowed her eyes towards her brother, angry he didn't immediately share her disdain for the man frozen to the wall.

"I'm here to help you find Appa!" said Jet, allowing a lost Appa poster to unroll from his hand.

"Katara, we have to give him a chance," said Aang softly, eyes locked on the image of Appa printed across the paper in Jet's hand.

"I swear I've changed, I was a troubled person and let my anger get out of control, but I don't even have the gang anymore. I've put all that behind me."

"You're lying," Katara accused, but with the fight fading from her voice.

Toph pushed past her and placed her palm against the wall next to Jet's body. "He's not lying," Toph confirmed.

"How can you tell?" Asked Jet, surprised.

"When you lie, your body has a physical response. He's telling the truth." Toph explained, turning her head meaningfully towards Katara. Katara pursued her lips knowing she was insinuating to when she'd argued to allow Zuko and his uncle stay in the city.

"Fine, but we're not letting you out of our sight!"

She heard Toph snort behind her and mutter, "Heard that one before."

…

"This is the place I heard about." Jet explained. The group had followed him across the Lower Ring to an abandoned warehouse reminding Katara strongly of the stable where she and Zuko dueled the night before. "I work nearby, two people were talking about some big, furry creature they had. I figured it must be Appa."

Katara narrowed her eyes, examining the large, empty room and boarded windows, worried Jet led them to a trap.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Toph's shout, "He was here!" She spun around to see Toph holding a clump of soft, white fur in the air triumphantly.

Aang nearly flew across the room beside her, "We missed him," He gasped, taking the wad of fur from Toph.

"They took that big thing yesterday," an old man with a large broom appeared through a back door, shuffling along while he wiped the floor, "Foreman said some rich, royal type out on Whale Tail Island bought him up. I've been cleaning up fur and, ugh, certain other leavings all morning."

"We've got to get to Whale Tail Island!" Aang explained, then looked to where Sokka was unrolling his map, "Where's Whale Tail Island?"

Sokka frowned from behind the large scroll, "Far, very far," Sokka finally replied, mournfully.

The group sat on the floor of the warehouse, examining the map. Sokka pointed out a curved, white point close by the South Pole.

Katara gasped, "Aang, it will take us weeks just to reach the edge of the Earth kingdom! Then, we'll need to find a boat to bring us to the island."

"I don't care," Aand responded immediately, "We have a chance to find Appa, we have to try."

Frowning, Katara bit her bottom lip. She knew she should tell Aang it was more important to focus on planning for the eclipse, but she also remembered they had agreed to put all plans on hold until Appa was found. "Ok, Aang, you're right, we agreed finding Appa was the priority," She reluctantly said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled warmly towards her, "Thanks, Katara."

Sounding just as regretful as Katara felt, Sokka announced, "Off to Whale Tail Island it is then."

"I'm coming with you!" Jet announced raising a fist in the air to follow Aang and Sokka out of the warehouse. Katara rolled her eyes, "No, not you."

"Why won't you trust me, Katara?" Jet demanded, reminding Katara of another young man in Ba Sing Se. Seeing Jet again should have triggered memories of their intimate moments together, but, for some reason, she could only think of Zuko kissing Jin and the dream she'd had following.

Blushing furiously, Katara made to follow Jet out of the warehouse.

" _Another_ former boyfriend?" Toph smirked beside her.

" _What?_ No!" Katara exclaimed wondering if it was even possible to blush any harder.

"I can tell you're lying," Toph mocked.

The group walked for a time, debating the best way to get from Ba Sin Se to Whale Tail Island, well, mostly Sokka devised the travel plan and they all agreed.

"Jet!" Called a young voice and Smellerbee, one of Jet's ex comrades appeared in the street running towards the older boy and enveloping him in a hug.

"I thought you weren't with the old gang anymore?" Katara asked sarcastically.

Jet's eyes reflected only shock. "I'm not!" He exclaimed staring wildly between Smellerbee and the tall, silent Long Shot who appeared moments later, his signature crossbow hanging over one shoulder.

"How'd you get away from the Dai Li?" Smellerbee pressed on.

"The Dai Li?" Exclaimed Katara, Sokka and Aang in unison.

"Yah, they captured Jet a couple weeks ago!" Smellerbee explained.

"This doesn't make sense," said Toph frowning, "They're both telling the truth."

"Yes it does," Sokka interjected, "They're both telling the truth because they both _think_ they're telling the truth. Jet must have been brain washed by the Dai Li!"

Jet's mouth fell open while everyone's alarmed eyes turned to him.

…

Zuko 

He couldn't get Katara's hurt expression out of his head. All night after their duel, he tossed and turned, finally waking before light. Giving up on sleep, Zuko pulled himself off his bedroll and pulled the Blue Spirit mask out from underneath his pillow. He gazed intensely at the face of the mask, an idea forming in his head. Perhaps, it _would_ be a good idea to find the bison. Perhaps, the bison could even be his ticket home to the Fire Nation. Even as the idea passed through his mind, Katara's face floated in his vision and his stomach clenched in guilt.

 _Stop, she is not your friend. Get the bison. Get home. Reclaim your honor and your throne._

Still not entirely certain what to do once he located the bison, but entirely confident he could find the bison, Zuko donned his Blue Spirit mask for the second time in twelve hours. Formulating a plan, Zuko also picked up an extra long-sleeved tunic and pair of gray pants. Zuko slid out the sliding door of their small apartment, listening to the droning snores of his uncle. Collecting a number of long branches and fishing some armfuls of hay from a roadside cart, Zuko began to set up for the first phase of his plan to find Appa.

Zuko pressed his lips together as he built the scarecrow. The wobbly thing threatened to fall at the slightest breeze, but Zuko figured it wouldn't get much better. Placing the mask more loosely over his face than usual, he crouched in the shadows of a muddy side alley, waiting for an unfortunate Dai Li agent to pass.

While he waited, he attempted to shake Katara's face from his mind, disturbed from thinking of her at all. Sparring her made him feel…alive, for the first time in weeks. Utilizing his bending and thinking like a warrior gave him a piece of himself back in a way difficult to describe. And there was Katara herself, his sworn enemy, seemingly coming to trust him, even asking him to _help_ her and the Avatar. The thought made him shake his head. How foolish of her to trust him so quickly. But, then again, didn't he feel a bond forming between them, as well? Gritting his teeth, Zuko reminisced on his dream of them together, when his brain replaced the Earth Kingdom girl, Jin, with Katara. He shivered against the cool night air and heat spread throughout his body without command, as if imagining what it would feel like to actually have the waterbender pressed against him.

He waited approximately an hour, shooting nervous glances towards the sky, worried he would have to give up on his plan until the next night. Finally, an unsuspecting Dai Li man walked past, moving leisurely with hands folded behind his back. Even his small, confident steps felt conceited to Zuko. After the man passed, placing a good ten feet of distance between them, Zuko sprang to his feet, sprinting at the man's back and knocking his shoulder as he ducked to the side. "Get out of my way, Skinny!" He shouted brusquely.

Zuko felt the man's glare on his back and knew the man took off after him. He sprinted back towards his Blue Spirit scarecrow, ripping the mask off his face. With trembling fingers, he managed to attach it to the flimsy, straw face. The Dai Li agent flung himself around the next corner, just as Zuko managed to crouch back into the shadows. Slowly, he crept along the wall of the alley, watching as the silly earthbender focused his rage on the scarecrow figure across from him. Sliding his dual blades from the sheaths at his back, he approached the Dai Li agent from behind.

"If you don't want to end up like him," He indicated towards the headless Blue Spirit scarecrow, "you'll do as I say."

…

Turned out, the bison could be accessed quickest through a specific southern entrance, at the mouth of Lake Laogai. Luckily, the water barely lapped over the center of the wide, circular entrance. Zuko struggled to distinguish the door from the rest of the muddy lake water, but, in the end, managed to locate the overly large pothole. Spending a good ten minutes, Zuko pushed and pulled at the heavy earth door wishing, only once in his existence, he was an earth bender. Finally, the earthen floor door cracked open wide enough to allow him to slip through.

He fell, without much grace, onto the equally disgusting muddy floor inside a vast, cavernous structure. Zuko examined the crudely cut dirt walls surrounding him and felt a bit intimidated by the darkness of the cave. Determining he already broke every Ba Sing Se law possible, Zuko lit a small flame within his left palm to lead him in his search. He didn't need to search long before he heard the long, low moans of which could only belong to a huge creature. Zuko approached the cell door, wondering how the Dai Li got such a huge creature inside the cage in the first place, and forced the door open.

Appa, as Katara called him, groaned and growled at the sight of an unfamiliar young man in a mask. Zuko winced inwardly, wondering what harm or torture the Dai Li subjected the creature to during his captivity.

"Not who you were expecting? Well, you're mine now." Zuko muttered at the beast, even in that moment, wondering what he was doing inside that cell.

Inner thoughts debating his next move, Zuko realized a moment too late the door to the cell swung open behind him. Flashing his swords over his head, Zuko spun to meet his new opponent. His mouth dropped behind his mask as he surveyed the new arrival.

"Uncle?"

"So, the Blue Spirit, I wonder who could be behind that mask?" His uncle tugged at his beard, as if actually debating the answer to his own question.

Zuko sighed, "What are you doing here?" He pulled the mask off his face and locked eyes with his uncle, not even wondering how his uncle found him. Of course his uncle had known all along he was the Blue Spirit, Katara was right.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." His uncle continued, his voice uncharacteristically commanding. "What do you plan to do now that you found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment?" He cocked his head towards Zuko, while surveying the large creature still shivering and growling behind him.

"First, I have to get it out of here," Zuko looked away from his uncle and gritted his teeth. Couldn't his uncle _see_ he had no idea what to do? That he didn't even know what he _wanted_ to do? But, apparently, Uncle Iroh knew him better than he ever suspected, because his next words shook him to his core.

"And _then what?_ You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole. If his friends hadn't found you, you both would have frozen to death!"

Zuko winced at the harsh words, "I know my own destiny, Uncle!" He attempted to counter.

"Is it your _own_ destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force upon you? I'm _begging_ you, Prince Zuko, it's time for you to look inward. And begin asking yourself the big questions, _who_ are you and what do _you_ want?"

Zuko looked between his uncle and the large, white beast ahead of him. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to focus. _You want your honor, you want your throne, your honor and your throne._ But the words rushed objectively through his head, as if they held no true meaning to him after all.

…

Katara

Jet's body lay crippled below her outstretched palms. He and Aang had detached from the group minutes prior during the battle underneath Lake Laogai to pursue Long Feng, head of the Dai Li. All the while, Jet fought alongside them and, well, bravelly, even following Aang to help him bring Long Feng to justice. Now, he lay broken underneath her hands. It would take hours of one on one healing for her to even begin to reverse the damage to his internal organs inflicted by the killer blow from Long Feng.

"You guys find Appa, we'll take care of Jet, he's our leader," Long Shot shocked every single person present by speaking.

Katara wanted to protest, her nature demanded to heal the broken body in front of her. But Jet's hand travelled to clasp her own, "I'll be okay, Katara, go."

Aang's eyes travelled to meet her own. She realized in that moment, her decision to follow the Avatar across the world was not made lightly. He needed her at that moment, even as another lay dying in front of her, but it was to Aang her primary loyalty resided. She needed to go with him and she needed to help him find Appa, even if it would kill her. Swallowing painful tears, partly for Jet, and partly for her own moral freedom, she nodded.

She, Aang, Sokka and Toph sprinted from the long corridor where Jet lay and began flinging open cell doors at random. They may have won the battle with the Dai Li for the time being, but they entertained no desires to linger long in the secret, horrible place beneath the lake.

Finally, Toph called breathlessly, "In here!"

The group burst into a particularly large cell with vaulted ceilings and massive iron chains, cast broken and twisted against the cell walls. Tufts of thick, white fur stuck to every surface of the room and the overwhelming smell of an extremely large mammal confirmed their suspicions.

"Those are certainly…Appa leavings," Sokka confirmed, looking like he was trying not to be sick.

"Long Feng must have got to him before us!" Aang called out, panic and pain present in very syllable.

Katara's first instinct was to agree with the assumption, however a second, and more likely the more she considered it, possibility ran through her head. Excitement flooded her body and she grabbed Aang by the arm, "I don't think Long Feng got him, come on!" Pulling Aang behind her, Katara the lead the group out of the cell sprinting towards the exit. Out of breath, Katara motioned for Toph to lift them out of the underground tunnel system.

Toph raised her arms, pulling a sheath of circular earth up from the ground and propelling up to the surface of the lake. "What's going on, Katara?" Aang demanded. "We need to find Appa!"

Katara used her hand to shade her eyes, scanning the skies for any sign of flying bison. "Katara…" Sokka picked up where Aang left off, searching for an explanation to her bizarre behavior.

Before Katara had the opportunity to argue, a series of deadly rock fists rocketed at the group. Toph bended an earth shield to protect them, and Katara and Aang moved simultaneously, waterbending towards the surface to counter the Dai Li. Moving as a team, they attempted to batter back the troop of Dai Li blocking their way. But more agents slid down the steep walls, throwing aggressive rock formations at the group of four. Toph valiantly protected herself and the rest of the group from too much serious harm, but, eventually, the Dai Li surrounded them on all sides.

For a horrifying moment, Katara felt a twinge of doubt twist in her stomach. Maybe her assumption underneath Lake Laogai was wrong. She looked, again, towards the sky, her throat tightening with fear and disappointment. "Give yourselves up," Long Feng commanded, approaching their group with a sinister smile across his lips and hands folded behind his back. He faced away from the sun and shadows settled over his face.

Keeping her gaze skyward, Katara noted a dark, black dot cross the surface of the sun. She gasped and relief spread from her fingers to her toes. Sure enough, the small, black dot approached growing in size and revealing itself as a giant sky bison.

Appa roared, bludgeoning through the earth walls formed by the Dai Li and knocking some dozen agents into the lake. Long Feng turned sharply to see the bison approaching him and rage curled across his face. Appa responded in like, roaring at the man, bending over and grasping Long Feng's leg in his teeth and tossing him forcefully into the lake to follow his Dai Li agents.

"Appa!" Aang exclaimed, flying inches off the ground to reach Appa quickest. He hugged the bison and tears streamed down his face. Katara felt her own eyes water as she buried her face in Appa's thick, white fur.

"Thank you, Zuko," She whispered into Appa's soft body.

…

Zuko

Zuko pulled himself out of the earth door and turned to help pull his Uncle up after him. His hands clutched into fists, he looked to the sky where Appa flew headed away from Ba Sing Se. He could hardly make out the small figures on his back, but his heart clenched strangely when thinking one of them was Katara. He stared at his reflection in the Lake Laogai water, eyeing the scar across his face. He hated looking at and winced thinking of his own shame. He'd given up his, most likely, last opportunity to capture the Avatar. And, by freeing Appa, given the Avatar and his friends the perfect means to get hundreds of miles away from Ba Sing Se. He swallowed thickly, thinking he wouldn't see Katara again, maybe, not for years, or, maybe not ever.

His uncle placed a comforting hand on his shoulders. "You did the right thing, Prince Zuko." Zuko nodded, knowing the truth in his uncle's words. His gaze switched from his own reflection to the Blue Spirit mask clutched in his hand.

"Leave it," his uncle prodded softly, "When committing acts of good, you should show your face."

Zuko closed his eyes tightly and, feeling as if he were dropping a piece of himself versus a wooden mask, he allowed the Blue Spirit to slip through his fingers into the lake below.

* * *

Thank you for all viewers and reviewers! I know this chapter followed the actual episode very closely, but I thought the character development, especially for Zuko, was important for the rest of my Zutara story. As far as the romance between the two, this won't be a slow burn, but I also do appreciate the comments not to rush things because I do like taking some time for the characters to get closer and tensions to build. Disclaimer: Avatar doesn't belong to me :)


	8. City of Enemies

Chapter 8: City of Enemies

Katara 

Ensuring the solar eclipse information reached the Earth King's ears proved too important an endeavor to abandon and they agreed to remain in Ba Sing Se, despite the danger. Upon their return, the group spent the next couple of days battling Long Feng to prove the existence of the war against the Fire Nation to the Earth King. Katara reflected, sadly, how thousands of soldiers and citizens died over the past 100 years fighting the Fire Nation in their king's army, without even the knowledge or blessing of the king.

Finally, when they revealed the huge drill at the outer wall used by Azula to attempt to invade the city, they won the Earth King's trust. He ordered Long Feng to lifelong imprisonment, much to she and the group's delight. Additionally, the king pledged the support of Ba Sing Se's armies to invade the Fire Nation on the solar eclipse, a day Sokka christened the Day of Black Sun. For the first time since entering Ba Sing Se, the group shared a strong sense of hope for the future of the war.

To further improve their spirits, General Howe, one of the generals belonging to Ba Sing Se's Council of Five, announced the discovery of hidden messages in Long Feng's office for Aang, Toph and Sokka and Katara. Toph received a letter from her mother, which Katara read aloud to her. Toph's mom was in the city and eager to see her daughter, finally coming to terms with her daughter's true personality.

"Long Feng must be a sad man to intercept our letters from _home_ ," Toph commented shaking her head.

For Aang, a scroll attached to Appa's horn invited him to the Western Air Temple, where a guru promised to help teach him to control the Avatar state.

While happy for her friends, Katara eyed the general hopefully, eager for news from home. "Are there any letters for Sokka and I?" She questioned, trying not to sound too eager.

"There is an intelligence report I wanted to share with you," The general confirmed handing Katara a small, simple scroll with printed text across it. "News of a small fleet of Water Tribe ships?" Her mouth fell open and her voice wavered as she read on, "Protecting the mouth of Chameleon Bay and lead by chieftain Hakoda!" She and Sokka locked gazes, mutual looks of joy sparkled in their blue eyes.

"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed, and Katara could hear the emotion in his voice. Her own heart filled with affection and longing for their father, who they had not seen in years since he left to fight the war.

"Weeks of trekking across the Earth Kingdom looking for Appa, nearly dying hundreds of times and almost losing Ba Sing Se to a crazy maniac," Sokka paused and shook his head, "and now all this good news! Our luck is turning for the better, guys!"

Katara agreed with Sokka's words, but unease still seeped through her voice when she announced, "I know this is going to sound terrible, but I think we need to split up."

"What?" Aang gazed at her, shocked. "Katara, we just got the family back together!"

"I know, Aang," she explained gently, "But it's most important for you to get to the Western Air Temple and learn to control your Avatar state before the invasion."

"Ok, Katara, you deserve to go to our dad. I'm sure the warriors could use the help of a waterbender." Katara winced when she heard the notes of envy and disappointment in Sokka's voice. She knew none of his negative emotions were directed at her, but, merely, served as a reflection of his own self-doubt in his ability to be as important of a warrior to their dad.

"No, Sokka," She murmured softly, "You go to Dad, you're of age to join the warriors, I'm still too young." She knew her father, when he witnessed her waterbending prowess, would allow her to fight, but she knew Sokka needed the time spent with their Dad more than she did.

"Thank you, Katara," Sokka murmured, looking gratefully into her eyes. Katara experienced a tiny twinge of guilt. Yes, a large part of her sacrifice, allowing Sokka to see their father in her place, was based on the fact she believed Sokka needed it more. But, a small part of her, also wanted to stay in Ba Sing Se so she could spend time without the group to visit a certain firebender in the Lower Ring. She had not seen Zuko since their duel and she owed him an apology and a thank you for helping save Appa.

"So it's settled then," Sokka nodded, turning to each member of the group in turn, "Aang will drop me off at Chameleon Bay on his way to the Western Air Temple and Katara and Toph will remain in the city to help the generals determine the best invasion plan."

" _After_ I go visit my mom," Toph corrected and Katara smiled at the girl.

"Of course, Toph, family is always most important."

…

Katara failed to control the hammering in her heart as she made her way to Iroh and Zuko's tea shop in the Lower Ring. She blushed on and off the entire walk down, wondering why her body responded to the thought of the Fire Nation prince in such a manner. Gathering all her courage, Katara entered the tea shop with a smile on her face.

Immediately, the smile slipped when it was the owner, not Zuko, wearing the apron and greeting her at the door.

"Where's Zu-Lee?" She asked.

The owner sniffed, as if insulted, "Mushi and his nephew opened their _own_ tea shop in the Upper Ring. You never can find loyal service these days. Well, would you like some tea?"

Katara turned her back on the indignant man and rushed back out the door, disappointment falling on her chest. The Upper Ring was not nearly as large as the Lower Ring, surely, she would find Zuko by the end of the day. She silently reprimanded herself for being so eager to find the firebender in the first place. Was Zuko even her friend? His face flashed in her head, gold eyes narrowed, dark hair stuck to his forehead and a large, red scar seared across his left eye. Her heart skipped a beat at her thought. Well, her body certainly didn't react like _that_ to any other friends she had. She blushed furiously in embarrassment and looked around the street at the other pedestrians, as if every person could see into her mind.

Looking up at the sky, Katara started in alarm at the position of the sun. She needed to get back to the palace for a meeting with the Council of Five to help strategize the Earth Kingdom invasion plan. Pushing Zuko to the back of her mind, Katara set off at a brisk face determined to focus on the task at hand.

…

Katara shivered with excitement over the Earth Kingdom invasion plan. Ba Sing Se's resources seemed, nearly, immeasurable, raising her confidence they could defeat the Fire Nation before the arrival of Sozin's comet. Now, all the Council of Five needed were the Earth King's signatures. Despite an unsuccessful day searching for Zuko, Katara nearly skipped down the corridor of the Earth Kingdom palace, searching for the Earth King. She wished Toph could be there to join her in the moment of triumph. The young earthbender left early in the morning to meet her mother and hadn't returned since. Katara hoped it went well between Toph and her family, knowing how much Toph loved her parents, despite their cruel treatment of her, keeping her hidden from the world and refusing to allow her to bend.

She also kept her eyes peeled for Suki and the Kyoshi warriors. She tried to imagine how anxious her brother must be to get back to see the young female warrior. She saw plainly how attracted Sokka was to Suki and how Suki seemed to return the affection. She felt a moment of envy, wondering if she could find someone like that one day. The next moment, her stomach flooded with guilt, remembering how Aang spoke with her before he left.

She'd been in a hurry to see he and Sokka off, trying to slip in the time to visit Zuko at the tea shop. Aang had approached her seeming nervous and uncomfortable, unlike his usual kind and comfortable self. She smelled the trouble before he even began speaking.

"Katara, I wanted to talk to you about something," he admitted. Katara's heart sank at the hesitant words. "I'm sorry Aang, but I'm in a rush to meet with the Earth King! And you and Sokka need to get going right away!" She had hugged him to soften the blow. However, reflecting on the moment, she felt like a coward. She needed to show courage and honesty, and tell Aang the truth about her feelings. But how could she tell one of her best friends, and the Avatar, she only viewed him as a brother? Inwardly, she groaned, her good mood over the invasion plan momentarily spoiled.

She entered the King's Hall struggling between enthusiasm for the invasion plan and trepidation over Aang's apparent feelings for her. Due to her inner turmoil, she took a moment longer than usual to locate the Kyoshi warriors gathered around the king's throne. The king was absent, but the warriors sat, seemingly relaxed, at its base.

"Suki!" She called, warmth filling her voice and relief filling her body, glad to have a friend with her again.

She ran towards the Kyoshi warrior, a grin across her face, "We just finalized the invasion plan, take a look!"

"Oh, I am most definitely interested in taking a look."

Katara stopped dead in her tracks. The cold, calculating voice did not belong to her friend the Kyoshi warrior. The figure she originally mistook for Suki stepped forward into the light, narrow golden eyes sparkling in her direction. Katara felt cold dread spread in her veins. She knew only one other set of golden eyes as powerful as those locked on her at that moment.

"Azula," She gasped and pulled her water canteen off her waist.

"Mai, Ty Lee," Azula commanded, still calm.

The two other Fire Nation girls approached, arms out, ready to fight. "Where's your brother?" Ty Lee asked, almost conversationally. "I do enjoy fighting him so much more than you." She sighed wistfully.

"I, on the other hand, would stab both of you just as quickly," Mai glared towards Katara before swiftly shooting tiny daggers at her stomach. Katara dodged the attack, a lone dagger managing to cut a tear through the kimono belt at her waist.

Distracted by Mai's assault, Katara noticed too late the small, acrobatic girl closing in on her. Using her water whip, Katara managed to block the first few jabs, but, a moment later, her attention diverted back to Mai, freezing a number of daggers to prevent them from embedding into her spine. Ty Lee pressed her opportunity, tiny fists making fast contact with Katara's waist and arms.

Katara collapsed to the tiled floor of the palace, her water canteen spilling out and soaking her mid-section.

Azula approached her smirking. Katara noted the dull light in her eyes, so low and unappealing when compared to the gold of her brother's eyes. Thinking of Zuko, Katara closed her eyes tightly and willed him to appear at the palace gates to save her.

"And the waterbender falls with grace," Azula murmured, nodding in approval. "Waterbender, I think it only fair to warn you, when I'm done with you, I'm going to kill you. Then, when your little earthbender friend shows up, I'm going to kill her. And when your Avatar boyfriend tries to rescue you, I'm going to take him to my father. He will be kept imprisoned with little food and little water, we will torture the rebellion out of him until he no longer fights. He's already on his way, you know, my informants made sure I was aware. We will be ready when he gets here, he is no match for my combined power with the Dai Li."

"You're a monster!" Katara screamed from her spot on the floor. "Aang is not a fool and he won't fall for your trap!"

Azula laughed softly, "I _hate_ to repeat myself, Waterbender, the Avatar is already on his way. You need to learn to listen more closely. Mai?"

Katara shivered in fear, her eyes darting up to where Mai handed Azula a small, pointed blade. Azula smiled down at Katara and gripped the blade within her hand. Katara watched the blade glow red with heat.

"Lift her pants," Azula commanded.

Katara thought she noted hesitation in Ty Lee's eyes, but, a moment later, the young acrobat kneeled on the floor beside Katara and pulled back the cuff of her blue pants to expose her ankle and lower calf. Katara commanded herself not to cry, fear nearly choking her throat.

Azula walked slowly around her body, smiling and tutting as if Katara were a young child who ate an extra dessert without permission. " _This_ will remind you to listen." She spoke with confidence and experience. Swiftly, she bent over and pressed the flaming blade against Katara's ankle. Katara bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. Hate filled her gut and acid trickled up her throat into her mouth.

"Not a sound, so…admirable." And Azula really did smile like she were proud of Katara for her silence.

Katara's eyes threatened to water, but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind and glared up at Azula.

"Now you are listening properly. As I was saying, the Avatar will be captured and destroyed at my hand. As for your brother and _pathetic_ little water tribe, well they will all be dead soon. I hear the small fleet is headed towards the mouth of Chameleon Bay. There, they will be greeted by some of the Fire Nation's _finest_ Navy ships, in fact, if my timing is correct, the battle is due to begin, well, about, now."

Katara closed her eyes to keep tears from leaking out. "You're evil! Aang won't fall for your trap and he'll come for you. My friends will end you, all of them together! Toph is the greatest earthbender in the world, Aang is more powerful than you could ever hope to be and Zuko…" She cut off and her eyes flew back open, shocked at the name which escaped her lips.

"Zuko?" It was Mai who spoke, the shock clearly laced in her voice.

Azula pressed thin lips together and glared down at Katara. "So Zuzu is in the city, huh?" Then, she allowed another horrible smile to cross her face, "I think it's time for a little family reunion."

…

Toph

"Let me out of here!" Toph screamed for, perhaps, the millionth time. She banged closed fists against the cold, metal walls of her portable cell. The two men on the other side refused to answer her demands. She groaned and collapsed to the floor, hugging her knees.

 _So stupid, Toph_ , she chided herself. _Believing your mother accepted you as you are, ugh, you really are a fool._

She groaned a second time out loud and clasped her hands into fists. Wasn't she the greatest earthbender in the world, a title she dubbed for herself? And, yet, she allowed Master Yu, a man who needed to use coupons to fill his earthbending classes and the stupid and callous ringman for Earth Rumble to capture her. She closed her eyes tightly, attempting to create a plan for her escape. _Sokka would know what to do_ , she mused.

"I need to go to the bathroom she called!" Figuring she may as well try the obvious ploy.

She heard Master Yu and the Earth Rumble leader arguing in the front of the cart as it rolled to a halt. Her heart rose momentarily with hope.

"Are you a fool?" The Earth Rumble leader shouted.

"Hmm, yes, good one Toph!" Master Yu called back to her and Toph slammed her fists into the floor.

"Let me out so I can kick both your asses!" Her fists collided with the metal harder than she planned and she groaned in pain. But the powerful collision sent shivers up her arms and into her minds eye. She experienced moment of "seeing" as if she were looking at earth inside the metal walls. But earth inside metal? That didn't make any sense, did it? Curious, she took a calming breath and stood inside the cell. Pressing her palms against the firm walls, she closed her blind eyes and focused. Sure enough, when she focused just enough, she sensed flecks of earth inside the metal, calling out to her, begging her to bend.

Toph gritted her teeth and focused on those pieces of earth within the metal, calling for them to come together, attempting to drag the metal inward on itself. She felt the metal begin to adhere to her touch. "Yes, Toph, you are awesome," She whispered, encouraging herself onward. With a final grunt of effort, Toph punched a hole straight through the metal wall, bending the metal outward until it crippled and shrank under her influence.

…

Sokka

"Ready to knock some firebender heads?" Asked Hakoda, a large smile on his face as he eyed his son. Sokka smiled back, eager to prove himself as a Water Tribe warrior. His father looked largely the same as the last time Sokka set eyes on him. The same shoulder length dark hair and signature Water Tribe blue eyes, but new wrinkles creased around his eyes and mouth. His face also adopted a new, worried expression, even when his father was calm. The subtle changes saddened Sokka, but also hardened his resolve to be of assistance to his father. He only wished Katara could be there to join him in their reunion.

Sokka helped to load the last of the Water Tribe assault boats, heart beginning to speed up with anticipation for the upcoming battle. He locked eyes with his father as they walked up the ramp together, but the moment cut short with the sound of a deep growl filling the air above them. Sokka looked upward, shocked to see Appa descending upon him. He frowned in confusion. He and Aang agreed to two weeks away from Ba Sing Se, it had only been three days.

Appa landed about ten feet from the war ship. Sokka listened to murmurs of surprise among the Water Trible warriors at the arrival of the Avatar.

"This can't be good news," He said, looking towards his father.

"Go," His father urged, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

Sokka yearned to stay with his father and the men of his tribe, a tribe he would one day lead, but he took one glance at Aang's worried face and knew his rejoining of the Water Tribe would come another day.

The minute Sokka climbed onto the back of Appa's neck, Aang shouted, "Yip yip!" Not even wasting a moment to explain to Sokka his sudden appearance before they were air born.

"What's going on, Aang?" Sokka asked with rising alarm.

"Katara's in trouble," Aang responded, eyes frowning and lips pulled down into an uncharacteristic frown. Aang explained a vision he experienced when unlocking the Avatar State, involving Katara captured and hurt back in Ba Sing Se.

Fear clenched at every inch of Sokka's body. Katara wasn't only his sister, but also his best friend, confidant and most trusted ally. With Hakoda's absence, she and Gran Gran spent the past five years of his life as his only surviving blood relatives. He could not and would not lose her.

They spent the next hour in flight debating how to approach the Earth Kingdom capital, both of them too frightened to formulate a particularly effective plan.

"So, is everything all set with the Avatar State spiritual stuff, at least?" Sokka asked, hopefully.

"Um, yah, just about." Aang responded, not meeting Sokka's gaze. Sokka eyed the side of the boy's head with suspicion, but for all the character flaws Aang possessed, he certainly wasn't liar.

…

Zuko

"Uncle I need three jasmine, one green and two lychee!" Zuko called back towards where his uncle worked to brew tea pots behind the counter. They opened the Jasmine Dragon the day before and citizens of Ba Sing Se swamped the tea stop from dawn until dusk. Zuko smiled to himself, enjoying how his uncle bathed in the success. He never witnessed Uncle Iroh smile with such peace and self-pride. Zuko shook his head wondering how brewing tea could make a once famed and fierce Fire Nation general so satisfied.

Uncle Iroh stood behind the counter, reading an ornate scroll with a small frown. Confused by his uncle's pause in brewing, Zuko approached the counter. "What's wrong, Uncle?" He questioned, alarmed.

"Wrong?" Asked Uncle Iroh, eyes turning away from the scroll to observe Zuko. "I never expected such…an honor." He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "Unfortunately, we will need to close shop for the remainder of the day."

"Close shop?" Asked Zuko, "Uncle, are you feeling alright?" He nervously tapped his fingers on the counter, worried his uncle picked up his fever from a couple days prior.

"I feel fantastic, my nephew," Iroh laid both hands across Zuko's shoulders. Zuko reminisced to when Uncle Iroh had been a younger man, and himself a small child, the way Zuko needed to tilt his head to meet his Uncle's eyes. Now, the man stooped in old age and Zuko far surpassed him in height. He felt a rush of affection towards the older man. "The Earth King has invited us to serve him tea this afternoon in the palace!" Uncle Iroh finished excitedly.

Zuko balked in shock and attempted to hide his disappointment. He hesitated to close shop that afternoon in hopes a certain waterbender would, finally, make her way in for a cup of tea, having never left Ba Sing Se at all. But, Zuko knew his hopes were foolish and bowed to his uncle, "Congratulations, Uncle."

"Come, my nephew, we must prepare!" Uncle Iroh grinned at him and Zuko sighed wondering, as he did many times a day since releasing Appa, what would become of his life in this city. As happy as he was for his uncle's success, he felt restless, yearning for a new purpose since hunting the Avatar came to an end. As he busted tables and ushered guests out, Zuko allowed his thought to drift to Katara, wondering where she was in the world.

* * *

Thank you for all reviews and spending time reading my story! This chapter does a lot of filling in and setting up for the next chapter so I apologize if it feels disjointed with the multiple POVs. I hope everyone is having an excellent holiday season!


	9. The Crystal Catacombs

Chapter 9: The Crystal Catacombs

Zuko 

Zuko knelt on a plush green and gold carpet, watching out of the side of his eye while his uncle cheerfully set up an array of tea pots and small, finely carved serving cups. He chatted amicably about the flavors he hand selected in anticipation to meet the earth king. Being the son of the Fire Lord, Zuko grew accustomed to royalty and noble life throughout his childhood. The idea of meeting the earth king didn't thrill him quite the way it did his uncle. But he did notice a tremor of nerves in his fingertips which he tapped on his thigh while they waited.

While Uncle Iroh continued to gab over his tea, Zuko watched a number of tall, robed men enter the room. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, determining just by the way they moved they were warriors. His palms began to sweat and he breathed in, feeding his internal flames. The men spread out covering all corners of the room, behind and in front of Iroh and Zuko.

"Something's not right, Uncle." Zuko murmured. General Iroh surveyed the room with concern and his eyes flashed with trepidation towards Zuko.

Moving together, they leapt to their feet falling into identical defensive forms. "What's going on here?" Uncle Iroh demanded of the silent, robed men.

"Hello, Uncle, Zuzu," The voice sent chills down Zuko's back. "Nothing like catching up with family over a steaming cup of tea," Azula emerged, hair pulled back and wearing a simple light green kimono. Zuko nearly failed to recognize her without her characteristic red armor.

"Azula!" He hissed, his stomach clenched with fear at the sight of her, and he silently rebuked his body for responding in fear to his younger sister. He shouldn't be afraid of her.

"Dai Li, capture the traitors," Azula waved a hand towards Zuko and Iroh.

"My niece, have I ever told you how I got the name the Dragon of the West?" Uncle Iroh asked as the Dai Li circled in on them.

Azula rolled her eyes, "I don't have time for your lengthy tales, old man."

"It's more of a demonstration," Uncle Iroh responded with a smile. Uncle Iroh sucked in a deep breath and Zuko spun to press back to back with the older man. Opening his mouth, Uncle Iroh released a massive display of fire side-stepping to make sure the flames licked towards every Dai Li agent surrounding them. "Run!" He yelled at Zuko, pushing him towards the door. They took off through the palace halls. Zuko willed his uncle to keep up the break neck speed.

"We need to get out of this building!" He shouted towards his uncle, just as he dodged a rock fist aimed at his back. His uncle slid into a powerful, offensive form and Zuko watched with admiration as he directed a beam of lightening from the tips of his fingers. The powerful bolt blew a hole deep into the palace wall. They approached the hole and Zuko looked down the steep drop to the garden below estimating about three stories between them and safety.

"We have to jump," Said his uncle. Zuko hesitated, worried his uncle's older body could not withstand the force of the fall.

"I'll help lower you down, take my hand," Zuko insisted, grasping his uncle's wrist.

"Nephew, we don't have time," Uncle Iroh pressed.

Zuko ignored his plea and pushed him towards the edge. His uncle sat with legs dangling towards the garden. Zuko got on his stomach and strained the muscles in his arms and back to lower his uncle as far down as manageable without tumbling out.

Uncle Iroh landed successfully on the garden among bushes of red berries.

"Jump, Prince Zuko!" He called up. Zuko hesitated, listening to the approaching feet of the Dai Li. He was tired of running from Azula, tired of living in fear of his only sibling.

"I have to face her," He spoke to his uncle, conviction and apology in his voice.

"Zuko, no!" But Zuko didn't wait to listen for his Uncle's reasoning, he turned to face the oncoming Dai Li agent. Zuko attempted to take on the roughly ten agents who surrounded him with hard expressions, fists crusted with stone.

"How admirable, a banished prince stays behind to challenge his little sister," Azula paced slowly towards him, hands folded in front of her stomach. She emitted confidence, and authority danced on each syllable of her words. Zuko didn't have a difficult time figuring out how she converted the Dai Li, an earth kingdom force, into following a firebender.

Zuko grinded his teeth together, glaring at her smug face. "I do challenge you, agni ki!"

"Hmmm," Azula mockingly tapped a finger on her chin, "I decline. Take him and put him with the girl." She turned her back on Zuko and strode away while the Dai Li agent grouped around him, a dozen rocky fists reaching for him, simultaneously.

…

Zuko attempted to free himself from the solid, stone handcuffs placed along his hands, wrists and arms. At some point, it occurred to him he wasn't going to escape and settled on satisfying himself by making the transfer as painful as possible for the Dai Li agents. He kicked, tugged and spit towards them receiving a number of punishing blows in response.

Finally, they entered a pothole entrance leading deep into the ground. Zuko peered over the edge, groaning, was _everything_ in this city underground. The tunnel revealed only darkness and, a ways down, eerily glowing green and blue lights. Zuko frowned wondering what could omit a light like that.

"We brought you company!" One of the Dai Li agents cupped a hand over his mouth to shout down the hole. Zuko frowned, unable to see any other person at the bottom. Distracted, Zuko felt a jolt of shock when one the agent's shoes collided with his sore back, forcing his body over the edge. He tumbled through the pothole, his body spinning uncontrollably with mud and dust attaching to his face and getting up his nose. He landed on his side at the bottom and groaned. Looking around him, he realized the source of the eerie green and blue lights. The pothole contained a number of large, crystallized structures which glowed in shades of green and blue. Zuko stared, fascinated by the alien material.

"Zuko!" A voice broke his mesmerism.

He looked up to see a small, dark haired girl with the largest blue eyes in the universe flying towards him. She nearly tripped over a curled tentacle of crystal to fall into his arms. He caught her, astonished and confused. "Oh you're alive, oh thank the spirits! This is all my fault, Zuko, I'm so sorry!" She pulled away from him and tears flowed from her eyes. Her hair hung half around her face and half in a strangled braid down her back, her white and blue kimono was ripped around her feet and sleeves. "Azula told me Aang is on his way, but it's a _trap_ , she's going to capture him, Zuko! Even if I told him myself not to come, he still would! And I have no clue where Toph got to, I only hope she decided to stay a few days with her mom. And Sokka.." At that point, Katara's voice cut off harshly. She sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes wide and her normally mocha colored skin paled. "Sokka went to help my dad defend Chameleon Bay….Azula says they'll be dead before the day's end." She rubbed her eyes with both hands, as if trying to stifle the tears. "It's my fault she caught you, Zuko, I mentioned your name. I'm so stupid and I'm so sorry."

Zuko stared a bit dumbly at the emotional girl before him. He never spent time developing an empathetic skill set and struggled to think of how to help her. After a few moments, he wrapped his hands around her wrists and pulled her fists gently from her eyes. He forced her to lock eyes with him and stepped close to her, leaning downward so their faces were mere inches apart. "Azula always lies," He told Katara, "Always. Do not believe her story about your brother and father. Sokka spent the past half a year travelling with the Avatar and your father is the chieftain of your tribe, they would make valuable prisoners. There would be specific orders to bring them both in alive. I know that's not the best case scenario, but their chances of simply being alive are very high. You haven't lost your family today, Katara." Katara's watery eyes stared into his gold ones. She blinked and a wince of pain crossed her face, but, also, a small amount of relief. "Thank you, Zuko," She whispered, then began shaking her head, "You should be angry at me, I'm the reason she caught you."

Zuko smiled wryly and shook his head, "Azula would have caught me eventually, no matter what." He released her wrists and stood straight, watching the young waterbender in front of him. She pulled her wrists close to her chest, as if attempting to replace the warmth from his hands.

"As for the Avatar, I hope his particular knack for evasion plays well for him when he arrives." Zuko continued to watch Katara's expression, she still looked shell shocked, but seemed to be coming back to her senses. Zuko hoped the Avatar succeeded in rescuing her. This thought was followed by a wave of envy as Zuko imagined not the Avatar, but he himself as Katara's rescuer. He shook his head sharply, he was equally trapped as her.

Zuko moved a few steps away from Katara and sat against a rather flat piece of green cave crystal. Katara moved to join him and he watched her noticing a limp in her right foot.

"Your leg is hurt?"

"Yes," Katara admitted carefully, "They took my water, of course, so I have no means to heal it."

She sat closer to him than he expected so his left knee touched hers. He held out his hand toward the right leg, "Let me see."

Katara hesitated, but then shifted and extended her leg so her foot lay across his lap. Zuko nearly shivered from the contact of her extended leg pressed against his. He tried to hide the slight blush which creeped up his cheeks. He pulled bag the tattered edge of the pants portion of her kimono. The burn left bubbled red and pink skin behind, but what caught Zuko's attention was its particular shape. "This wasn't cause by a fire whip," He commented, looking back to Katara's face.

"No," She admitted, "Azula used one of Mai's daggers. She heated it up."

"While she fought you?" Asked Zuko, surprised.

"No, Ty Lee already blocked my chi, I was laying on the floor. Azula told me a burn would help me to listen better." She told the story bitterly, her heart rate elevating as she spoke about the terrifying memory.

Zuko's eyes widened in undisguised horror. He gritted his teeth together and nearly shouted, "Bitch! I would fight her right now if I could, my sister is exactly the sick kind of person to burn someone when they're down!" Katara jumped slightly at the aggression in his words. "I hope the Avatar puts her out of her misery," Zuko concluded, glaring across the cavern.

"Isn't she, well, still you sister?" Asked Katara meekly.

Zuko looked back to the water tribe girl. How could he expect her to understand his family? Sure, he and Azula played when they were young, but she always struggled with any emotional development, never really capable of displaying empathy. His mother tried to work with her, but once his mother disappeared, Azula became unmanageable.

"Only by blood," He responded to Katara. He only planned on answering her that, but it proved so easy to talk to Katara he continued without control, "She used to drown the baby turtle ducks in the palace gardens. She called it a game, she wanted me to play it with her. It scared me and I brought my mother out to stop her. She tried to explain to Azula causing harm and death were not "games". She tried to get Azula to picture how she would feel as the turtle duck. Azula didn't understand, she told my mom she _wasn't_ a turtle duck, she was a princess of the royal family and turtle ducks were her subjects. I think my mom suspected Azula inherited too much of Ozai, and when my mother disappeared, Azula became uncontrollable." Zuko shook his head lightly, "I just did my best to avoid her."

"Your mother left the palace?" Asked Katara, eyes widening with surprise. Zuko felt a stab sear through his chest at the question. "I'm not sure," He admitted, "no one knows where she went or why. Well, maybe my father, but little chance he would ever share with the likes of me." He wrapped his arm around his chest, feeling exposed and embarrassed for sharing so much of his childhood with Katara. But she sat up and leaned towards him to place a comforting hand on his knee.

"Losing a mother is something we have in common." She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and, when she reopened them, fresh tears sparkled at the surface. "The Fire Nation spent a quarter of a decade conducting vicious raids against my people, their goal to capture or destroy every waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. While a battle raged, my mother carried me to an igloo in an attempt to hide me. A firebender followed us and he demanded the identity of the last Southern waterbender. My mother told him she was the last waterbender. I watched the entire thing, cowering in some old seal hides. His first hit cut across her throat, I think she may have died just from that blow, but the Fire Nation didn't want to take chances, they knew many of our waterbenders were also healers. So, he unleased flames from his hands and he burned my mother and burned and burned until the roof of the igloo melted and I smelled her skin. When he finished, there was nothing of her left, only this necklace." Katara fingered the oval necklace around her neck. "I'll never forget that man and I'll never forget that smell…"

Zuko sat in stunned silence, sympathy for the young waterbender rushing through his chest. His stomach curled, disturbed by her story, and even more so, when he imagined how a small child felt watching such violence firsthand. He remembered the way she had wrapped her arms around him when he fell into the cavern. He crawled across the space between them and, hesitantly, reached out an arm to wrap around her back. She fell into his embrace, grabbing around his neck and pulling herself closer to him. He felt her sigh into his chest and her fingers trailed from the base of his hairline to his shoulders.

"For a long time, your face was the one that came to mind when I thought of the enemy," She admitted breathing into his shirt. "My face," He repeated reaching his left hand up to touch the scar across his left eye. On instinct, he leaned away from their embrace. Of course his face, what a better face to represent the destructive and powerful nature of the Fire Nation? He pressed his lips together turning the scarred half of his face away from her, wondering how, after what the Fire Nation did to her mother, she even managed to be near him.

"I didn't mean it like that," Katara whispered, sounding a little alarmed and looking, if he wasn't mistaken, slightly disappointed he had pulled his arm away. She sat up, using a hand on his bicep to twist her body to better look at his face. He attempted to continue to avoid her gaze, but her hand reached up and, before he collected himself, she placed it over the scarred side of his face, her fingers pressed against his skin and he had no choice, but to look her in the eye again. Blue locked with gold, their breathing the only sound to echo throughout the cave.

Katara's hand slid across the edge of his scarred eye, seeming to trace the patterns of poorly healed flesh.

Zuko's throat felt tight and his armpits prickled with sweat. He was very aware of Katara's one hand on his face and the other clutching tightly to his arm. He tried not to stare at her large blue eyes or the way her blue kimono hung further down her shoulder than typical, revealing the smooth, brown skin of her shoulder.

"Thank you," She murmured, her voice pulling him from his reverie.

"For what?"

"For saving Appa," She responded with a small smirk.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but actually chuckled, "Little good it did you, waterbender, you're still trapped in this cave with me, awaiting judgment at the hands of my lunatic sister."

Katara giggled, "I'm glad you're here with me, Zuko." She sighed again, "Why are you such a good person?"

"So, I'm a good person now?" Zuko cocked an eye brow up. His heart nearly stopped when she leaned her head towards him, her face inches from his own.

"And I apologize for misjudging you in Ba Sing Se." He felt her breath rush across the tip of his nose.

...

Katara 

Katara's heart fluttered like the wings of the snowbirds who flew over the South Pole every springtime. The guilt in her stomach for treating Zuko poorly upon their first encounters eased slightly at her apology. Zuko didn't respond, he just locked eyes with her, a mix of surprise and indecision conflicting across his face. She liked the ease in which she read the expression in his eyes, knowing the opportunity was rare. Zuko was typically a master of hiding his emotions, whether behind his Blue Spirit mask or a withering glare.

She watched Zuko swallow thickly, "I don't deserve your apology, Katara."

A loud explosion caused them both to jump and a large cloud of dust and crystal shards lingered around a large, dark hole in the side of the cave. From the mouth of the opening, two figures stepped forwards. "Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed, pushing Katara from her place on top of him and leaping to his feet.

Katara quickly rushed to her own feet, accidentally leaning too hard on the injured ankle and wincing. "Katara, are you ok?" Aang flew towards her, feet hardly touching the floor. He turned on Zuko pointing the tip of his staff at him, "What did you do to her?" He demanded, furiously. Zuko narrowed his eyes and took a threatening step towards Aang. "I didn't hurt, Katara, don't accuse me of things you don't even understand." The air seemed to crackle and pop with anger and mistrust between the two boys.

"Aang, Zuko didn't hurt me, Azula did before she locked me in this cave," Katara spoke and placed a warm hand on Aang's shoulder. She watched the way her touch affected him as his hands unclenched from his airbending staff and shoulders relaxed. His expression softened, but only slightly and looked away from Zuko and back to Katara.

"Are you ok to walk out of here, Katara? We can find you some water to heal yourself right away," He promised.

"I'll be alright, Aang," She reassured him. "Have you seen Sokka or Toph?"

"They're tracking down the Earth King, trying to get to him before Azula does." Aang narrowed his eyes and Katara knew he was worried about the coming battle between him and the Fire Nation princess.

"Did you figure out the Avatar State, though?" Asked Katara excitedly.

"Ugh…"Aang turned pink and glanced sideways at where General Iroh and Zuko observed their conversation.

"We can talk about it on the way to find Toph and Sokka," He grabbed Katara's hand, leading her back towards the industrial sized hole he and Iroh created into the cave.

Katara glanced back at Zuko, who moved as if to follow after them, his eyes furious and desperate. Katara shuddered, saddened by his reaction to Aang.

"No, Prince Zuko, it's time we talk," General Iroh stepped to block Zuko's path to Aang and Katara.

"Goodbye, Zuko," She whispered weakly, hurrying down the makeshift earth tunnel after Aang.

…

She and Aang sprinted uphill until they emerged in the upper ring of the Crystal Catacombs. She felt Aang's questioning gaze on the side of her face, but she refused to meet his eyes. She would explain to Aang about Zuko later, right now, they needed to find Sokka, Toph and the Earth King.

"We need to find a spot where I can earthbend us out of here," Aang broke their silence.

Katara nodded, her heart racing at the thought of Sokka or Toph going toe to toe with Azula. They continued to sprint along the tunnels of the Crystal Catacombs until they emerged in a massive, cavernous room, a huge waterfall dominating a wall of crystal, water thundering down to stream into a miniature lake at the center. Katara admired how the green light of the crystals reflected off her element.

"It's….beautiful." She murmured, turning to smile at Aang. She frowned at Aang's strange expression, the way his soft eyes turned into round ovals to stare at her, "Yes," He agreed. Then he blushed, "Katara, I have to tell you something…"

Katara stomach squeezed with discomfort, suspecting where this line of this conversation headed. She wanted to tell him they needed to focus on finding Sokka and Toph, focus on saving the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se, but her mouth went dry. She willed Aang not to continue, she couldn't lose one of her best friends, not now.

A burst of powerful, blue flames saved her from the moment. Katara flung herself left towards the pool of water pulling a large, powerful wave from it and arranging the wave in front of her as a shield. Aang rose some twenty feet in the air to dodge the flames and landed in an offensive stance, eyes narrowed.

Azula smirked as she studied her opponents. She moved impossibly fast, spinning and sending ferocious flames forwards toward Aang and, simultaneously, toward Katara.

But water and air were complimentary elements and Katara and Aang always dueled well together, their bending styles similar. They circled Azula, Aang distracting her with his evasive air bending tactics and Katara throwing wave after wave of water.

Azula fought like the sabretooth moose lion she was, but after minutes of facing down two opponents, she breathed heavily and Katara thought she noted slowing in her movements, if only fractionally. Seizing the opportunity, Katara flung a powerful water whip and Azula attempted to kick flames into the air to block her, but, instead Katara surged the water forward, feeding the whip from the large pool beside her and encompassed Azula's leg up to her knee.

Azula roared with frustration and Katara smirked, just as an unidentified lever of flames severed her hold on Azula. The blast forced Katara back another few steps and she squinted against the steam to observe the newcomer. Zuko emerged flanked by white steam and gray smoke from his flames, to stand by his sister. Katara's heart dropped into her stomach and her throat clenched painfully. _No, no,_ she thought to herself.

"Katara, watch out!" Aang shouted, breaking Katara's gaze from Zuko and to the blue flames stretched towards her. She thanked the moon and ocean spirits for the large, underground water supply and threw another wave forward in defense. Azula and Zuko worked to split Aang and Katara. Zuko pursued Aang, sending long, thin fire whips twirling and sizzling to chase the air bender across the roof of the crystal catacombs.

Meanwhile, Katara went toe to toe with Azula. The Fire Princess now smirked fully, "I will enjoy burning you again, waterbender," She hissed menacingly. Katara tried to fight the disappointment in her throat at Zuko's betrayal, but her hurt made her sloppy. Azula blasted her own wave of blue flames, knocking Katara back, over the edge of the mini lake and into the welcoming water below. For a moment, Katara allowed herself to sink, relishing in the feel of her element all over her body. She chastised herself for feeling so hurt over Zuko. They weren't even _friends,_ not really. But, all their time together? Him saving Appa? Their conversation in the catacombs? Her hurt turned to anger. Gathering the water around her, she spun it around her body, breathed out and pushed herself up, out of the lake atop a powerful geyser.

She flung a particularly large wave at an unsuspecting Azula sending her swimming across the catacombs. Then, she turned her attention to Zuko, who watched her with an expression close to awe. She sent a hurdling wave of freezing water whip to knock him off his feet. She lowered herself to the ground and ran at him, brandishing her water whips on both arms.

"I thought you changed!" She screamed with rage as she approached him.

"I _have_ changed," He replied, moving into a defensive position.

Katara thought if she were a firebender she would breathe flames in anger. She moved to attack the Fire Prince, but a fist of earth collided with her rib cage, knocking the breath from her lungs and her feet out from under her. Dozens of Dai Li agents dropped around her. She looked, desperately, across to Aang, similarly surrounded.

"There's too many!" She shouted, pointedly, towards Aang, willing him to enter the Avatar state. He met her frantic gaze with a saddened expression. "I'm sorry, Katara," He mouthed towards her. Katara's mouth went slack, confused by his apology. Utilizing the crystal surrounding him, Aang submerged himself inside an earth tent, leaving Katara to face Azula, Zuko and the Dai Li very much alone. Her hands shook as she surveyed her enemy. Zuko seemed intent on capturing her eyes, but she refused to even glance in his direction.

Azula smirked, "Hoping the Avatar would save you?" She sauntered towards Katara whose hands shook. A blast of blue flames ate through Katara's defense. She lay on her back on the crystal floor and gazed up with unhidden fear into Azula's ruthless eyes. Azula brandished a hot ball of flames in her hand.

But a strong arm emerged and grabbed a hold of Azula's wrist. "Zuko, what are you doing?" Asked Azula, annoyed.

"I will enjoy burning _you_ ," He responded, his voice ice cold. He kicked a round of flames at his sister, knocking her some ten feet towards her line of Dai Li agents.

"You will die with the waterbender and the Avatar then!" Azula shrieked.

Just then, the crystal tent surrounding Aang burst open. Katara's heart leapt as Aang emerged from the tent, arrow tattoos and eyes glowing white. He was in the Avatar State, they were going to win. Just as hope blossomed in her chest with the turn of events, a devastating blast of lightening shot through the room. Katara watched the lightening, as if, she were only an observer at a performance. The lightning struck Aang in the center of the chest, and Katara screamed in horror. As she ran to Aang, Zuko ran to meet Azula in combat. Katara caught Aang's head just as he collapsed to the ground. Her hands shook violently, her mind was spinning, her whole body shook.

A deep, familiar roar filled the cavern and Katara looked upward to see Appa burst through the opening at the peak of the waterfall. On his back, sat Sokka, Toph and the Earth King. Appa landed beside Aang and Katara, and Sokka leapt from his back. "Aang! Katara!" He exclaimed, running towards them. Toph followed more slowly, slipping down the side of Appa's body. "What's wrong with Aang?" She questioned, and her voice shook slightly.

"Toph, go help Zuko! Sokka, help me with Aang!" Katara commanded, immediately.

"Help _Zuko?_ " Sokka demanded. "Yes, he's on our side," Katara snapped, still sore from Zuko's supposed betrayal and not 100 percent confident he really was on their side.

Toph didn't hesitate, she moved into the combat field, taking on the dozen Dai Li agents while Zuko continued to engage his sister. Katara risked a glance towards him. He moved, primarily, on the defensive, clearly not as adept as his sister with bending, but holding his own nonetheless.

Katara pulled a slender, glass case from the inside pocket of her kimono. "Water from the Spirit Oasis," She explained to Sokka, who watched her with huge eyes.

He placed a hand, hesitantly, across Aang's stomach. "Katara, I think he's already…gone."

Katara swallowed thickly, ignored Sokka's words and coaxed the spirit water from its container. She allowed the water to thickly coat her hand and placed it across the ravaged section of Aang's chest. Sokka's words were close to the truth. Life lingered in Aang's body the way a drop of water may linger in the desert. Katara closed her eyes and focused on her connection with the healing element in her hand. The Spirit Water seemed to move even without her bidding, stitching Aang's skin and sinking into the flesh of his heart. In response, Aang's stomach moved as he drew his first breath in minutes. With the encouragement of the Spirit Water, his heart thudded in his chest.

Katara let out a shaky breath and Sokka's eyes widened impossibly, "Katara," He breathed, "You brought him back to life…"

"Get him on Appa," She ordered her brother as she stood. She turned to face the battle behind her. Zuko and Toph were losing. Zuko's slim green tunic was nearly burned off his body revealing multiple fresh, red burns. Toph was backed into the corner of the cave playing defense against the talented Dai Li. Despite the odds, Katara ran towards them, pulling as much water as she could influence from the center lake. With a powerful wave of her arms, the water flooded the cavern, knocking Azula and each Dai Li agent off their feet. Katara bent over and grasped her knees to catch her breath from the exertion. A moment later, Toph and Zuko appeared on either side of her.

"Let's get out of here," Toph spoke with more apprehension in her voice than Katara ever heard before. Before she could agree, a blast of lightening shot across the distance of the cavern, straight toward her own stomach.

Katara froze, watching the deadly strike of light approach. She never believed the popular folktale of death, how your life "flashed before your eyes". But, in that moment, she saw the face of her father, her mother, and Sokka. She felt the warmth of their family igloo, heard the laugh of a communal joke and the sing song notes in her mother's laughter, the deep, comforting treble of her father's chuckle and the gurgle in the back of her young brother's throat reverberated in her head. Her heart longed for this moment in her past and, impulsively, she thought, _I'll see you soon, Mom._

Miraculously, when the lightening floated mere inches from her body, the powerful bolt curved into a distinct "L" shape and veered away from her. Her eyes traced its new path into the fingertips of a portly, older man.

"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed, the relief apparent in his voice.

The formidable burst of lightening slipped easily through General Iroh's fingertips and Katara watched, awestruck, as it slipped just as smoothly out of his opposite arm. Her mouth remained slack as the chaos continued around her. She'd saved Aang from death and, then, narrowly avoided her own death all in the same five minutes. Scarier still, as death approached, she had felt almost ready, almost excited for the moment when blackness would consume, pain would end and, after it all, her reunion with her mother would commence. Vaguely, she heard General Iroh shout towards she, Toph and Zuko.

It sounded hazily like, "Get out of here!"

A rough, strong hand gripped her shoulder and shook her. "Katara, move! Go to the sky bison!" Zuko's voice echoed loudly in her ear. Shaking her head, she turned to meet his perplexed gaze. Her mind came back into her body and she looked wildly around them. General Iroh took up Azula in combat, while the Dai Li moved liked spiders across the ceiling and walls, closing in on Appa some twenty feet behind her.

Toph spun towards her, halfway to Appa. "Katara!" she shouted, looking bewildered as to why the water tribe girl wasn't directly behind her.

Sokka stood on top of Appa, waving his arms like a madman, "Come on! Come on!" He shouted over and over. She just barely made out Aang's slumped form at Sokka's feet.

"You foolish old man!" She heard the harsh voice of Azula. "You disgusting traitor, you will die by flames in the end!"

"And you will die by your own hand, my niece," She heard General Iroh reply smoothly.

Finally, she moved towards Appa and her friends. "Let's go, Zuko," she encouraged the firebender, hesitantly. Zuko's face displayed rage and concern in equal measure as his eyes traced the battle between his sister and uncle. Immediately, he shook his head. "I have to help my uncle."

"He told you to go," Katara argued, not entirely sure why she was even helping the firebender. _Because he chose your side, in the end_.

"I can't turn my back on him," Zuko argued back, rage still hung on his words, but, also, a pleading and concerned tremble made its way in. Katara reached and grabbed his hand.

"We don't have much time," She continued, urgently.

As it turned out, they had no time at all. As Katara argued with Zuko, General Iroh delivered a particularly mighty burst of lightening towards Azula who, in turn, caught his lightening on her fingertips and redirected it towards the ceiling of the crystal catacombs. The cave must have taken one too many blows over the course of the battle, because a terrible quaking spread from the spot where Azula's lightning struck and the roof of the cave began to break apart. Appa sized fragments fell in earnest around Katara and Zuko.

"Run!" Katara heard her own voice scream, but it was Zuko who pulled them from underneath the collapsing rocks, wrapped an arm around Katara's waist and, with a rough tug, submerged them in the center lake.

* * *

Longest chapter yet, hope if you're reading you enjoyed! :) Thank you for the reviews they are very encouraging! The Zutara aspect of the story will be picking up significantly in the next few chapters (yay)


	10. Escaping the City

Chapter 10: Escaping the City

Katara 

Katara forced her eyes open against the oppressive water. With a flick of her hand, she created a bubble in front of her face, allowing her to look around and gain her bearings. Zuko sank into the underground lake beside her, his eyes narrowed and bloodshot against the liquid. Large boulders splashed deep into the lake all around them, missing the two swimmers by precariously close distances. Zuko pointed towards the opposite end of the lake, away from the collapsing cave and site of the battle. Katara experienced a moment of panic, she needed to get back to Sokka, back to her friends and back to Aang. But the falling stones around her convinced her otherwise. They swam side by side away from where the majority of the damage.

Katara could have used her waterbending to move faster, but, even after his betrayal and, then, well timed return, she wouldn't leave Zuko behind. For a firebender, he swam well and they cleared a decent amount of distance before tipping their heads up towards the surface.

Katara sucked in a deep breath, the air filling her lungs with strength and energy. Zuko sucked in multiple, short breaths beside her. Katara's eyes flickered to the roof of the catacombs, watching as foot by foot chipped away.

"The whole place is going to collapse," She rasped, attempting to catch her breath properly.

"There's a tunnel," Zuko rasped even worse than her, and pointed, still farther across the small lake, towards a dark tunnel, smaller than the one in which Katara arrived with Aang.

Katara risked another glance back towards the shore, eyes searching for Appa's large form. Dread and cold filled the core of her body realizing so much of the cave collapsed already, the fragments created a large barrier between herself and others, one large enough she would need to earthbend to get through it. If she even had the time, which she didn't, considering the entire place would be crushed in minutes.

"Hold onto me," She commanded to Zuko. He hesitated, then gritted his teeth and reached out to grip her shoulders. Katara swung her arms in windmills by her sides and launched them towards the promising tunnel. With shaking arms, the two teens pulled themselves from the water. Half crawling, half running, they entered the gloom of the tunnel. Moments later, a combination of green crystals and rocks converged to block the entrance.

Katara knelt on the cold stone, breathing deeply while her hands shook against her thighs. The darkness of the underpass helped her forget, only for a moment, the past fifteen minutes.

She felt the warmth of Zuko's flame before her eyes registered the new light in the tunnel, flickering against the earth walls and casting her own shadow for her to view.

"We're alive," Zuko commented, almost disbelieving.

Katara scanned her eyes around the cave, taking in the brown walls and muddy floors. Some small amounts of green crystal clung to the edges of the cave, but not nearly the amount they witnessed back in the cavern or she and Zuko's cell.

She stood on shaking legs, "We have to get out of here."

Zuko walked to stand beside her peering into the cave, "We don't even know where this leads."

Katara shrugged, turning away from him "It doesn't matter, we have no choice." She didn't bother to hide the traces of hurt from her voice.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened back there…" Zuko began, guilt clouding in his voice.

"Forget it," she snapped, not ready to listen to his excuses, "let's go."

They walked in silence, hours passing between them without a word. The silence irked Katara, use to the chatter between she and her friends when they travelled, but she also loathed to break it with Zuko lest he get the wrong impression about her forgiving him. Finally, they began to follow the trail on a gradual ascent. The tunnel's diameter grew smaller and smaller, until they walked shoulder to shoulder and hit a dead end.

"That's it?" Asked Zuko, incredulously. The flame in his hand illuminated the frustration on his face.

Katara placed her palm on the earth ceiling above their heads. "I bet we're close to the surface, if only one of us could earth bend."

"Well, we can't," Zuko replied dully.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him, "In that case, you better help me start digging."

Zuko's eyes widened, "Dig?"

To emphasize her point, Katara began to claw at the ceiling above her head, pulling fistfuls of dirt down and around their feet. One of the handfuls landed on Zuko's shoulder and she watched with the amusement, the anger that crossed his face.

"Watch it, waterbender," He grumbled.

"How about you start _helping_ then."

His lip curling with distaste, Zuko began pounding at the ceiling above them, using small blasts of heat to help the earth crumble. Katara prayed they were only a few feet from the surface. They clawed and punched and bended at the earth above them until both their faces and torsos were covered in dirt and their arms sore. In her head, Katara silently apologized to Toph for taking her for granted all those months they travelled together. Earth was a stubborn element, a material only earthbenders could master.

In frustration, Zuko punched the ceiling above them with an excessive amount of strength and a large portion of dirt fell around him, revealing a small hole in the ceiling. Katara squealed with excitement, eying the night sky through the opening.

Being taller, Zuko jumped a few times until he caught onto the edge of the hole in the ceiling and pulled himself out of the tunnel.

Katara experienced a brief moment of panic, imagining he may leave her, but his hand appeared a second later through the porthole to help pull her onto the street level of Ba Sing Se. Panting and exhausted, she and Zuko surveyed their surroundings. They were still inside the Upper Ring, apparent from the fancy houses, elaborate gardens and flaming street lamps.

"Looks like we didn't get far underground," She murmured.

Zuko nodded in agreement and, for the first time since the crystal cavern battle, Katara met his eyes. Dirt streaked his face, covering a large portion of the star across the left side of his face and his gold eyes frowned at her intensely. Her heart raced and, subconsciously, she reached to touch her own face, feeling the layers of dirt there.

"We need to get down to the Lower Ring," Zuko spoke directly to her still holding her gaze, "Then, figure out how to get past the Outer Wall."

Finally, Katara managed to look away from him and into the night sky. She saw no sign of Appa and her heart sank. She knew, in all likelihood, her friends fled the city with Aang. They needed to get him somewhere safe so he could heal, and, most likely, Ba Sing Se now belonged to Azula. She closed her eyes to hide the pain of her separation from team Avatar, then looked back up at Zuko.

"Ok, let's do it."

…

Zuko

They moved stealthily through the Upper Ring, keeping to the shadows and using the walls of the houses to blend in best they could. Between their tattered clothes and dirt covered bodies, they stuck out like sore thumbs in the Upper Ring. Per his training as the Blue Spirit, Zuko moved silently on his feet, leading Katara, who, for all her skills as a waterbender, could not match him in secrecy.

They crept through the back garden of a particularly large mansion home. Loud music and laughing voices came from the open windows, suggesting a lively party inside. Zuko sniffed, the scent hot food wafting from the house into the garden. His stomach rumbled and Katara cast a glare at him. Zuko refrained from yelling at her that _she_ was the one who stepped on every singly stray, dry branch they came across, but pressed his lips together instead. He could feel the waterbender's rage over the battle in the crystal catacombs. Of course, he always planned to side with Katara and the Avatar. He would never take Azula's side because _Azula always lied_. But, tricking her into believing she attained his support, offered the best opportunity to defeat her. Of course, not even that was enough in the end, with her support from the Dai Li. Nevertheless, Zuko eyed Katara beside him with an uneasy feeling of guilt. He needed to properly apologize to her, once they were relatively safe.

"Zuko!" Katara's eyes widened in horror, looking somewhere behind him. She flung a whip of water into the air to deflect the stone fist inches from his head.

"Go, go!" He shouted at her, grabbing her hand. Dai Li agents cropped up on either side of them, surrounding the garden. "Into the house!" Zuko shouted, pulling Katara by the hand. He flung the backdoor of the mansion open and he and Katara ran inside.

They entered through a large kitchen, bustling with servants dressed in green tunics and brown pants with grey headbands, the symbol of the family home scripted across their heads. The servants turned to observe the newcomers, taking in their attire with unconcealed dread.

"Er, sorry…" Katara began, but Zuko pulled her arm again, and lead them out the kitchen door. In their rush, they nearly barreled into a servant, carrying a large silver tray of hors d'oueuvres. At the last second, Katara slid underneath the tray and Zuko leapt over. They landed side by side on the other side, facing an open ballroom of hundreds of Upper Ring citizens. Katara brandished her water whip in front of her face and Zuko lit flames in both of his. For a moment, the men and women closest to them stared in shock, but, then, incredibly, they began to applaud.

Zuko heard clashing and loud voices in the kitchen behind them, undoubtedly, the Dai Li on their tails.

"Zuko," Katara spoke beside him, large blue eyes turned to him, "They think we're entertainment." She gestured towards the crowd of well to do citizens before them. The members of the party closest to them chuckled at her words and applauded again.

Zuko's mouth dropped in undisguised disbelief. How _stupid_ were these people. But, then again, raised in the Fire Nation palace, he knew the lifestyle of nobles. It dawned on him Katara spoke the truth. At the second round of applause, the band picked up their music again.

Zuko stood, rigid and nervous, listening the Dai Li approach and the feeling the expectant stares of the elite party goers. "Zuko!" He turned sideways to meet Katara's gaze again. Her eye sparkled with…excitement? An idea?

"We'll _perform_ to the other side," She whispered insistently, "Follow my lead." She must have noted Zuko's dismay because she rolled her eyes, "It's just like sparring, _come on_." And with those words, she twirled on her toes water spinning into a small tornado above her head, and she pushed forward into the crowd. The Dai Li burst through the door behind them and Zuko had no choice.

Manipulating his flames into a miniature dragon, he directed his flames to follow Katara through the crowd. They moved around each other, spinning and sliding across the floor in an attempt to keep distance between themselves and the Dai Li. Occasionally, fire clashed with water giving rise to steam between them. The crowd oohed and aahed around them. Zuko never felt so uncomfortable in his life, yet, Katara's wild idea worked. He could see the large, promising front doors at the terrace. One of the Dai Li agents dropped mere feet from where he and Katara stood, blocking their path.

"Throw me!" Katara shouted at him, determination in her eyes.

"What?" Asked Zuko, even as she jumped into the air straight into his arms. Not entirely certain what she planned, Zuko tossed her as far into the air as he could, over the head of the Dai Li agent. In the air, Katara rained water over the agent, freezing his feet and body to the ground. She landed on hands and feet on the other side. Impressed, but still uncomfortable and slightly terrified, Zuko sprinted the last few feet, chasing Katara to the front door. The crowd applauded tremulously behind them as they made their exit.

Sprinting down the street, Zuko shot Katara a wondrous glance. "You are… _insane!"_

Katara smirked at his words, even chuckled darkly. "Makes you kind of sick to think the people here believed that." She responded, with a look of distaste.

Zuko could not possibly agree more, thinking of all the comfortable rich Upper Ring residents in their homes enjoying a party while thousands of refugees clamored for food in the Lower Ring and the Fire Nation ran a successful coup of their palace mere miles away.

"We'll never make it to the Outer Wall tonight," Katara continued, her voice less amused, betraying some of her exhaustion.

"I know," Zuko agreed, darkly. They paused to catch their breath, facing each other. "We need somewhere to hide out for the night." Zuko said, frowning, "And I certainly have no friends in this city."

Katara chewed on her bottom lip as she inspected the ground by her feet. "I may know some people," She admitted, hesitantly.

Zuko looked to her, a bit taken aback. Didn't all her friends fly away on the sky bison?

Katara sighed deeply, "Follow me." Zuko decided it unwise to question the waterbender and fell into step behind her.

…

They spent the next couple hours dodging the Dai Li and sneaking from the Upper Ring to the Middle Ring and down to the Lower Ring. Zuko experienced an unexpected moment of reminiscence, thinking of the weeks he spent with his Uncle here. With thoughts of his Uncle, came uncomfortable feelings of guilt and pain. He left his uncle at the palace fighting Azula, did he even survive the collapse of the cavern? If he did, did he escape Azula's wrath? He nervously ran his hand repeatedly through messy hair, trying to hide his emotions from the girl beside him.

But Katara looked deep in her own, painful memories, dark eyebrows frowning and her mouth pressed so tightly together her lips turned pink to white. Zuko wondered what bothered the waterbender, and he itched to investigate, but feared her anger from his false betrayal only hours prior. He gritted his teeth, silently hoping Katara got over her feelings quickly, or else they were in for some awkward times together. But if he were being entirely honest with himself, he wanted Katara to get over her anger towards him because he enjoyed spending time with her and talking to her. She made it so _easy_ to express himself. She never hid her own emotions, encouraging Zuko to share his own, along with, personal information, usually, too painful for him to express. Hell, he told her about his _mother._

"We're here," She told him, stopping outside a lopsided, multi-level building. It reminded Zuko of he and Uncle Iroh's old apartment in the Lower Ring.

Katara headed towards the front door, pulling it open and leading him up the stairs.

"Just take it easy with the whole…son of Ozai, firebender thing…they're not the biggest fans of the Fire Nation," She cautioned.

Zuko rolled his eyes, like that's how he would introduce himself _anywhere_ in the Earth Kingdom.

Katara knocked, hesitantly, at the door to a second floor apartment. He listened to scuffling feet behind it and heard a young, female voice demand, "Who's there? Tell me your name."

"It's Katara."

More scuffling and murmurs behind the door before it swung open. Standing in the doorway was a small, young girl with short hair and boyish features, and behind her stood a teenage boy with an arrow docked on a string pointed straight at Zuko's face.

Zuko's eyes widened in recognition, "Smellerbee?" He asked, pulling the girl's name from the recesses of his mind.

"Lee?" Asked Smellerbee, shocked.

"You _know_ each other?" Asked Katara, even more surprised.

"We rode on the ferry into Ba Sing Se together, Lee's isn't a face someone forgets!" Smellerbee exclaimed, then ushered them inward, "Come in, quick."

Katara and Zuko rushed into the apartment. The place was a mess and smelled slightly like an earthbender training center, aka, sweat and grime. Zuko managed, just barely, not to wince.

"Sorry, haven't got around to cleaning," Smellerbee apologized, eying them, and the taller boy with the bow and arrow shrugged. Zuko tried to recall his name…something to do with his weapon…

"Thank the spirits!" Katara finally stepped forward to hug Smellerbee and the boy in turn. "I thought the Dai Li agents may have gotten to you."

Smellerbee rolled out four mats for herself, the boy and their guests. They each sat facing each other.

"Not yet, so what brings you here?"

"We needed a place to hide out for the night," Katara answered honestly. "So you guys know Zuko?," Katara commented. Zuko shot her a quick glare for using his real name, but the waterbender only shrugged, "They're my friends, I'm not going to _lie."_ She frowned at him.

Smellerbee nodded and sent Zuko a half smile. "He helped us with some missions on the ferry, actually. Jet really took to him, invited him to join the Freedom Fighters."

At the mention of Jet, the mood in the room shifted. Smellerbee's small smile disappeared, the boy with the bow's eyes drifted to the floor and Katara stiffened beside him. Not knowing Jet well, despite their time on the ferry together and Jet's subsequent accusation of him as a firebender, Zuko only looked around the group in confusion.

Katara's voice shook when she spoke, "Smellerbee, where is Jet?"

Smellerbee's eyes watered, "Katara, you can't blame yourself, or us, it's what Jet wanted…"

"I could have saved him," Katara whispered, her voice clipped with pain. Zuko watched the sadness and anger cross her face and the way her arms and hands shook at her sides. She closed her eyes tightly and Zuko knew from personal experience, she fought back tears. His fingers itched to comfort her, but he restrained himself.

"Please, Smellerbee," She continued, "I need to know exactly what happened after we left." Katara managed, her voice just above a whisper.

Smellerbee hesitated and traded a loaded glance with the bow and arrow boy.

"Long Shot and I stayed with him for as long as we could risk," She began, her voice surprisingly strong, "but we couldn't stay there forever. Jet refused to be left to the mercy of the Dai Li, he asked us if we could…well he asked us to end it for him. Peacefully, on his own terms, surrounded by friends."

Zuko watched the boy, Long Shot, grip the bow at his back so tightly his fingers paled. "I did it for, Jet," He said in low, strong voice. Zuko traced the path from Long Shot's pale fingers to the arrows strapped at his back, _he asked us to end it for him._ Zuko knew, immediately, what happened to Jet and his eyes flickered back to Katara to see if she had drawn the conclusion yet. Tears seeped out her eyes onto the mat she knelt on. Zuko felt a stab of sympathy for the water bender and reached out his hand, placing it gently on her back.

…

Katara 

Smellerbee and Long Shot set up makeshift beds of spare blankets, pillows and bed mats for she and Zuko. They retired to their own beds leaving Katara and Zuko, who lay on their backs, staring at the cracked wooden ceiling. Sleep evading Katara, despite her exhaustion.

 _You should have saved him. You left him to die._

Her mind tortured her with images of Jet's lifeless body. She dug her nails into her forearms, crossing them tightly over her chest.

 _Are you even a waterbender? How can you consider yourself a healer if you allow your friends to die?_

Though she felt a sense of loss from Jet's death, she mourned more for her inability to save him, no, her unwillingness. She left him below Lake Laogai to chase after a _sky bison_. She loved Appa and Aang, but Jet was a _person_. She chose the Avatar's mission over a life. Tears slid down the sides of her cheeks, and she choked back soft sobs, hoping the sounds didn't alert Zuko.

Her hopes were in vain. "Katara?" His voice drifted across the space between them. She pressed her lips even tighter together, hoping to hide any additional sounds. Her chest shook with the effort and she allowed a groan to escape.

A small flame lit the few feet between them and she turned her head sideways to meet Zuko's eyes. His golden gaze met her own with the usual intensity. She felt him looking, not just at her, but in her, searching for the source of her emotions.

Keeping the flame lit in his hand, he rolled closer to her. "Katara, I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I'm sorry about what happened to…Jet. I can tell he meant…a lot to you."

Katara actually released a snort of laughter, shocking Zuko. "Jet was an enemy for most of the time I knew him, actually. When we first met I thought he was…charming, but he was an angry and cruel person. He only changed recently, after coming to the city, was only our friend for a brief period of time."

Zuko looked confused, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you so upset for?"

Katara sighed, looking over his face, wondering if she should divulge her thoughts to him. He waited patiently, his expression curious and neutral, the flames dancing against his gold eyes turning them amber. Drawn in by the flame and the calm look in his eyes, Katara began to speak.

"I'm afraid I wasn't true to myself at Lake Laogai. I thought my loyalty to Aang meant I had to leave Jet, I needed to go with Aang to help him find Appa. But, I'm a waterbender in my blood and I was _born_ a healer. It went against my nature to leave Jet there, yet, I did it anyways. I picked the Avatar's mission over my own morality and that's…frightening. I know how important it is to help Aang win this war, but, I don't want to lose myself in the proces."

Katara stopped, her voice shaking. She reflected on her own words to Zuko, taking herself aback with their truth. She loved Aang like a brother and he remained one of her best friends, but she couldn't always support him and take care of him, follow him on every whim ad decision he deemed most important. As much as she acted like it, she was not Aang's surrogate mother. The thought filled her with guilt that she would feel such resentment towards Aang, but she recognized it wasn't Aangs fault. It was her own for falling into the role of mother for their group and forgetting to take care of herself first. Her fault for not staying true to her nature below Lake Laogai and forgetting the loyalty she felt for herself and her bending.

Zuko blinked a couple times at her, looking as surprised as she felt. "Why did you never tell the Avatar you felt this way?"

She shrugged heavily, "I didn't want to let him or Sokka or Toph down, I suppose."

"Well he is an air monk, right? He should understand your need to heal people, use your bending the way it was intended. He should support you in that?"

Katara frowned and wondered how Aang would react to the conversation taking place between she and Zuko.

"Why is it so easy to talk to you?" The words left her mouth without registering. Her cheeks blushed and eyes widened, looking to Zuko for his reaction.

He looked slightly embarrassed by her question. "Um, I like talking to you too?" And she thought she noted a blush cross his own cheeks, but it was difficult to tell in the flickering fire light.

"I'm still mad at you for betraying us, by the way," She quickly snapped out.

Zuko rolled even closer to her, their bodies less than a foot apart now. He spoke passionately, "I did what I _had_ to do. I thought it was the best way to defeat Azula. I thought you would realize I was on your side. I told you in the catacombs, _Azula always lies._ I could never trust her, I know that from experience, believe me."

His flame sat so close to her, she felt the waxing and waning of heat with each flicker. More so, she felt the heat budding in her chest from Zuko's face so close to her own. Her eyes scanned his face again, taking in the scar first, then, the sharp cheekbones, strong jaw and gold eyes. _The scar doesn't matter, he's still gorgeous._ She jumped slightly at the unprovoked thought.

She looked away as the blush spread, darker, across her face, "I believe you," She said, mostly to appease him. The way he made her feel confused her, and how much it hurt when she thought he betrayed her, well, she never wanted to feel like that again. She did somewhat understand it. She was water, and he was fire. Zuko, by nature, was unpredictable and destructive, just like his element. His strategies in battle _would_ be different than her own, after all, they were opposite elements. Katara could _never_ pretend to betray her allies, it went against her nature. It would be best to keep as emotionally detached from the firebender as possible. He was her ally and that was all. Feeling conflicted, she stared down at the pillow below her.

"Try to get some sleep," Zuko whispered in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

Very aware of Zuko tucked a couple feet away from her in the dark, Katara closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep's sweet pull.

…

All morning, Katara and Zuko, with the help of Smellerbee and Long Shot, planned the best method to escape Ba Sing Se undetected. After a quick breakfast of lukewarm tea and toasted bread, the four set off to the market. Katara and Zuko purchased new clothes, their originals still in tatters, and supplies for their journey. As for the destination, Katara still struggled to decide. She weighed the different options Sokka and Toph would have been faced with after leaving Ba Sing Se. She strongly suspected Sokka would want to return to Chameleon Bay to rejoin their father. And a fleet of water tribe warriors could offer good protection for an injured Avatar.

They bid farewell to Smellerbee and Long Shot at the edge of the Lower Ring.

"Come with us," Katara invited them for the tenth time that morning.

"We are going to stay in the city awhile longer, someone needs to help keep the people safe around here, what with the Fire Nation possibly taking over any day now."

Katara felt a stab of worry for her friends' safety, but their decision was their own choice. She and Zuko walked past fields of green, rolling hills and miles of agricultural farmland on their way to the Outer Wall.

"How are we even going to get _out_ through the Wall without alerting the guards to who we are?" Zuko questioned bitterly, voicing her fears out loud. Katara only groaned in response, missing Appa sorely in that moment.

The closer the wall they walked, the more anxious Katara grew. When they came within a mile of the wall, a terrible shaking caused her to nearly trip over her own feet. The whole earth quivered and rocked violently and Zuko threw out his arms beside her to catch his balance.

" _What_ is that?" He hissed.

Katara looked up and, with horror, located the source of the quavering earth. At least a mile long portion of the large, Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se swayed back and forth. She shared a dismayed glance with the Fire Prince, neither of them able to speak despite their mouths falling wide open at the site before them. The wall took mere minutes to crumble, but watching its collapse seemed to take centuries. A large cloud of brown dust rose in the aftermath of the destruction, the only remaining evidence a great wall once stood in its place.

"Well," Said Zuko, "the wall problem is taken care of."

The horror settling in Katara's gut prevented her from obtaining any happiness at his words.

* * *

Thank you to all reviewers and readers! Great motivation and feedback I appreciate it :) I love every episode of Avatar but, unfortunately, the better half of the 3rd season doesn't lend well to Zutara so I will be straying from the series for the next few chapters! Also, I will be changing the rating of this story to M in the near future so you have been warned ;)


	11. Opposites Attract

Chapter 11: Opposites

Katara

For all the commotion that defined Ba Sing Se over the past few weeks, leaving turned out to be rather monotonous. Zuko and Katara simply walked through the rubble of the wall left by the Dai Li, taking care to avoid any areas where Azula's agents lingered. They continued in silence, both shaken by the collapse of the wall, the collapse of the last great Earth Kingdom stronghold.

In her mind, Katara despaired, wondering, how could they possibly win this war? Sokka's planned invasion on the Day of Black Sun now felt futile without the backing of the Earth Kingdom armies.

 _At least I have a firebender to teach Aang_ , she thought casting a sideways glance towards her companion. _If he manages not to betray us again in that time._ She folded her arms, and glared bitterly. Remembering their conversation from the night before, she managed to keep her mouth closed and avoid another argument. Zuko was not worth her anger, and, he was a valuable ally. Hadn't she agreed to treat him as such? Nothing more, nothing less that was her deal with herself.

"So, where do you think the Avatar escaped to?" Zuko finally questioned her on their destination.

"Well, _Aang_ was hurt pretty badly when I last saw him," She admitted, emphasizing the airbender's name in exasperation, "I think Sokka would be calling the shots. And, knowing my brother, he'll go to our Dad for help."

"Your dad is nearby?" Asked Zuko, surprised.

Katara nodded slowly, "He's leading a fleet of Southern Water Tribe ships to defend Chameleon Bay." She faltered, "Well, trying to defend Chameleon Bay, but now that Ba Sing Se is under Fire Nation occupation…."

Zuko nodded thoughtfully, "There will be too many Fire Nation ships coming to join the occupation for one fleet to defend."

"I know," Katara snapped, fear crawling up her throat for the safety of her family.

Zuko eyed her cautiously, "Your brother will arrive in time to warn your dad about the Fire Nation on the flying bison." It sounded like a Zuko styled attempt at comfort. Katara remembered his arms wrapped around her in the crystal catacombs and, momentarily, she wished he would hold her again. Instead, she wrapped her arms around herself and sent a prayer to the spirits to protect her family.

Taking her silence for anger, Zuko forged on with a little more force in his voice, "So, where will they go if not Chameleon Bay?"

Katara hesitated, chewing her bottom lip, "If they are still planning any sort of invasion on the day of the eclipse, they'll stay close to the Fire Nation."

"Hang on!" Zuko exclaimed, "An invasion? When? How?" His eyes were the widest Katara had seen, stretching the discolored skin around his burned eye.

Katara sighed and, then, filled Zuko in on the Day of Black Sun, the true reason they went to Ba Sing Se in the first place. She monitored his facial expressions carefully, curious to see his reaction to the plan for his father's demise. However, the Fire Prince hid his emotions skillfully and listened with only a neutral expression. When she finished, he remained silent for a few minutes.

"Maybe, the colonies," He spoke at last, sounding like he half spoke to himself.

"Excuse me?" Asked Katara.

"Maybe, Sokka and the Water Tribe fleet would head to the Fire Nation's Earth Kingdom colonies." Zuko continued, "The Fire Nation owns most of the land on the west coast of the Earth Kingdom, the area was colonized seventy five years ago. It would still be relatively safer than the Fire Nation itself to hideout, but, also, only a day's boat ride from the Fire Nation Islands. Maybe a few days to the Fire Nation capital itself." His gaze became wistful at the mention of the capital. Katara struggled not to feel a stab of sympathy for him.

She nodded in response to his words, "That sounds like a spot Sokka would like." She agreed. "How far are we?"

Zuko sighed, "Weeks from the closest colonies, if travelling by foot. We could cut down some of that time by stealing a couple ostrich horses."

"Stealing?" Katara questioned, scathingly.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "We won't take anything from anyone who can't afford to lose it."

 _Opposite elements,_ Katara reminded herself in her head.

"The quickest way to the colonies is through Chameleon Bay, we can pick up some clues as we pass." He continued.

Katara's heart leapt slightly at the idea of any news about her brother or dad.

…

Zuko 

The passage through Chameleon Bay turned out uneventful and uninformative. A number of civilians did claim to spot a flying beast in the sky a couple days earlier, but Zuko was skeptical of their authenticity. However, Katara's eyes lit up beside him and her eyes widened into a hopeful expression.

Zuko thought the issue of the ostrich horses had been settled, but when it came time, Katara fought him tooth and nail. Finally, he agreed they wouldn't steal two ostrich horses, but, instead, only one. This ended with the two of them pressed together in the saddle, with Zuko sitting behind Katara holding the reins. He tried to ignore how amazing it felt to have her soft back pressed into his chest and her bottom curved between his legs against his lap, but he felt heat spreading in his body, despite his attempts.

To make matters work, Katara kept scooching around in the saddle, clearly uncomfortable with their predicament as well. But her scooching just ended in her body grinding against a very intimate part of him, and Zuko struggled not to groan because it felt _good._

"Stop moving around," He finally snapped at her. "If I knew you'd be so difficult I would have tied you to a tree again and stolen the two ostrich horses."

Katara only snorted in reply and folded her arms in front of her chest. Zuko felt a quick moment of guilt for snapping at the waterbender, he was the one who shouldn't be reacting physically to their close proximity.

They rode the next few hours in relative silence, but night fell sooner than either of them hoped for and they pulled to the side of the trail to make camp. Zuko helped Katara pitch the two tents and gather firewood. He watched with amusement as she attempted to rub together two splint rocks to get a spark. He pointed a finger at their pile of wood and the fire erupted. Katara jumped back in surprise and shot him a quick glare. He chuckled in response and a smile spread across her face, as well.

They prepared a quick meal and Katara gave him a strange look for offering to help her chop vegetables.

"What?" He asked bemused, wondering what he did wrong this time.

"Nothing, I just don't usually have help making dinner," She admitted with a wistful smile.

"Well, ugh, you can do it yourself if you would rather."

"No, I like the help, so, where did a prince learn to cook?" She questioned, her voice conversational.

"I was on the rode by myself for a time," He admitted, "I had a lot of basic skills I needed to learn quickly."

She looked curious from his words, "What happened to your uncle?"

He looked away from her inquisitive gaze, shame squeezing his chest. "We had an argument, well, it was my fault, as you could guess. We decided to split up, but I don't think he ever let me stray too far from him. I should be grateful, I should be more grateful than I feel, I owe my uncle…everything."

Zuko swallowed thickly, remembering the years his uncle spent at sea with him on his voyage to find the Avatar. His uncle taught him to firebend and he showed him how to lead a ship, not to mention the level of emotional support he provided, no matter Zuko's horrible temper. It was funny to think, all that time spent with Uncle Iroh when all Zuko wanted was his own father. How he had longed for Ozai's approval, to impress him, to prove himself as his firstborn son and be welcomed back home. He gritted his teeth against the memory of his father. _Lucky to be born._ Yah, right.

Katara watched him, her expression thoughtful. "I don't know your uncle well," She admitted, "But he seems like a kind and wise man. And, if he loves you as much as it appears, I don't think he believes you owe him any sort of debt."

Zuko laughed darkly, "I'm sure that's what he would say, if he were here." He felt his eyebrow turn down in a frown, "I hope he's….ok." _Alive._

"I know how you feel," Katara nodded in agreement, "I've been thinking the same about Sokka and my friends."

Zuko watched her clean up from their meal, impressed with the ease in which she incorporated her waterbending into the process. He admired how her blue eyes reflected with the light of his fire and how, each time her braid climbed over her shoulder, she tossed it back down her back. Finally, his eyes lingered on her lips and he remembered his dream, remembering as if it were a distant memory, when her lips pressed to his own.

Looking away from her lips, back to her eyes he jolted when clear blue stared back at him. They held each other's gaze for a long minute before Zuko looked away, embarrassed to have been caught staring. Without saying goodnight, he unrolled his bed mat into his tent and laid down, breathing a bit quicker than he expected. He listened to Katara set up her own place to sleep, heard her sigh when her body hit the ground. He didn't fall asleep until the rhythmic breaths of his companion flowed gently from her own tent.

…

Katara

Katara awoke with a light sweat covering her body. Remnants of her dream the night before slipped between slivers of her consciousness. She remembered running for her life, the terrifying but, musical laughter of Azula's voice. The newly formed scar on her ankle seemed to tingle. She remembered Zuko's face and his warm, strong arms wrapping around her as they had in the crystal catacombs. Deep between her stomach and pelvis, she felt an ache that reminded her, suspiciously, of desire, but, more prominent was her pounding heart, pumping throughout her chest. Rubbing her eyes, she attempted to chase the lingering thoughts of the dream from her mind, not entirely certain she wanted to recall the details. She slid out of her tent and looked for Zuko, determined not to allow her outrageous dream get the best of her.

She spotted him across the campfire, towards the edge of the trees. The sun seemed like it rose recently, sending shades of orange and pink across the sky. These colors reflected off Zuko's body as he moved through firebending forms, outlined by the dawn. Orange settled in his unruly hair and soft rose shades hugged his well sculpted torso and abdomen.

Katara forgot her dream from moments ago and watched him. She stared, unblinkingly, at his shirtless body and blushed. Her eyes traced the distinct lines of muscle on his arms, then chest, down to his abs and, even, over the prominent lines of his hips. She should be use to the male form at this point. She saw Aang and Sokka shirtless countless times, additionally, she healed hundreds of soldiers in Ba Sing Se in varying degrees of dress, depending on their injuries. But something about Zuko was so distinctly _strong_ and _masculine_ , she couldn't help, but admire him.

A few moments into her spying, Zuko glanced up in her direction. He seemed surprised by her observation and dropped out of his firebending stance.

"Good morning," She smiled at him, and looked away trying to hide her pink cheeks.

"Morning," He said back, cautiously.

"We should get started on breakfast so we can move on," Katara continued, forcing herself to sound casual, a difficult feat when the image of Zuko's body burned in her mind and her heart raced in her chest. _Stop that Katara, he's the Fire Nation Prince, it's inappropriate. Plus, he's_ only _an ally,_ remember?

Blushing all through breakfast, Katara attempted to speed along the entire affair, restless to get on the road again. They packed up camp and mounted their single ostrich horse. Katara attempted to keep her body still against Zuko's chest, not wanting to anger him like the day before. His body temperature proved significantly warmer than her own and her back burned against his chest. She swallowed and risked an adjustment or two. At some point, she managed to doze off.

She slept on and off throughout the day with her head lounging back against Zuko's shoulder. She felt comfortable, her back cooling off and her face warmed by his shoulder. She wilted in the warmth and comfort of their position, but only allowed a moment of enjoyment before sitting back up. She wondered how she got away with leaning on Zuko like that in the first place, if he got angry when she so much as inched one way in the saddle.

She felt his arms stiffen uncomfortably on either side of her, aware she had woken up. She bit her lip and her mind raced for a conversation.

"What are the colonies like?" She finally managed to ask, figuring a question would at least force the Fire Prince to participate.

He made an unpleasant sound in his throat, "Dirty, from what I've seen."

"Oh," Katara glared at the passing dirt trail beneath them, disappointed, "That's too bad."

"Why does it matter? I mean, to you?" Zuko inquired, sounding genuinely taken aback.

"Well…." Katara struggled to put her thoughts into words, "I thought of the colonies as a bridge between Fire Nation culture and the Earth Kingdom. I liked to think, the two of them mixed together may not be all bad, maybe, the two cultures together would be like the moon and the ocean, push and pull, and create a balance between two peoples."

Zuko remained silent for moment before responding darkly, "Most of the Earth Kingdom colonies were not annexed peacefully. How could a conquered people find peace with their conquerors, enough to create balance?"

Katara shrugged, feeling how her shoulders drag across his chest. "I know it's idealistic, it's just what I thought." She felt slightly embarrassed and even more put out. If the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom couldn't find a balance after nearly 100 years of occupation, how could water and fire, two opposite elements, ever find balance? She blushed slightly at her own thoughts, feeling a bit guilty for comparing the oppressed Earth Kingdom Colonies to her own blooming maybe friendship with Zuko.

"It was a nice thought," Zuko admitted in a whisper behind her head and she felt his warm breath sink into the back of her hair.

Katara blushed again and, cursing her own body, thanked the spirits Zuko couldn't see her face.

…

They unpacked camp by a gently flowing river a couple miles from the trailhead, deep enough in the woods to avoid detection from the road. The closer they grew to the Fire Nation colonies, the more danger they faced. Katara sat, wringing her fingers while Zuko took care of the fire. She watched the first flickers of yellow, orange and gold cast colorful hues across his face. She thought of how the coloring of Zuko's scar nearly matched the flames below him. Forcing herself to look away, Katara gripped her hands into fists. She needed to stop staring at Zuko, thinking about Zuko and, especially, dreaming about him.

Running her hands over her braid, she noted the fair amount of grease stuck to her dark locks. Glad for an excuse to get away from the firebender for a few moments, she announced, "I'm going to get cleaned up."

Zuko only nodded in response, chewing on goose jerky while he stared into his fire.

Katara ran to her pack, grabbed her soap and comb and jogged down to the river's edge. A slight hill dipped from their campground to the riverbed, providing her with some privacy from Zuko. She removed her kimono, the only blue one she had been able to find at the Ba Sing Se market leaving her in only her wraps. Stepping into the water, she felt the first powerful rays of moonlight hit her. The moonlight sank through her skin into her veins and flowed through her chest, arms and face making her body practically sing to the water around her. The water of the river moved on its own accord, swirling and rippling around her, as if asking to play.

Katara hummed to herself while she soaped her hair and body. She floated comfortably in the cool water, letting her hair cascade around her, and stared up at the darkening sky. Most people would have found the combination of the cool air and cold water uncomfortable, but Katara grew up in the South Pole and her body was accustomed to much chillier conditions. The river water pulled eagerly downstream, as if leading her. Curious, Katara followed the water, half swimming, half floating. The river divided into two gentle streams and Katara followed the lefthanded pull. The water dipped sharply at a couple of points and Katara laughed out loud at the swooping feeling in her stomach with each drop. Finally, the river slowed and Katara looked around in wonder at the where the river brought her.

The stream's water snaked into dozens of large, circular pools, where steam grazed the surfaces. _Hot springs, yes._

Katara's face broke into a wide smile and she swam into the nearest pool of water. Goosebumps popped up across her skin and she sighed contentedly. Staring into the night sky, she allowed her eyelids to slide shut and some of the stress to leave her body.

A sharp voice broke the silence of the night and her own contentedness. "Katara!"

"Zuko?" She called back, alarmed by the distress in his voice.

"Katara, where are you?" Zuko's voice cut like an arrow through the trees, distress turning partly to frustration.

Half lifting herself from the hot spring, she called back, "I'm over here!"

Zuko emerged from the tree line and, upon spotting her, froze with shock. She could see remnants of fear on his face. Fear for her wellbeing, she realized.

Recovering from his shock, Zuko glared sharply, "What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.

Katara stared at him, aghast, "It's a hot spring," She gestured towards the small pools surrounding her, as if it answered his question.

Now anger fully settled across his face. "You disappeared, you said you were just getting cleaned up. I thought something awful happened. I thought Azula got you, or worse!"

Katara silently wondered what on the planet could be _worse_ than Azula.

"Well, surprise, everything ok here!" She laughed nervously and his stern face scrunched into a more distinguished frown. "Don't just stand there like an aardvark sloth, come join me!" She continued in an attempt to smooth the glare on his face. Playfully, she scooped a handful of warm water and splashed in his directions.

He observed warily, arms crossed protectively across his chest, as if he really were an aardvark sloth and she a hungry armadillo lion. His eyes never leaving her face, he tilted his head slightly to the side, looking her up and down carefully.

Katara blushed furiously, wrapping an arm around her midsection. Like she had been aware of Zuko earlier that morning, she became extremely aware of her own body under his scrutinization. Cautiously, she looked down at her body, only covered by sarashi wraps and observed dark, mocha skin, a taut stomach and small, round breasts.

In complete honesty, she never considered herself especially beautiful. Well, she never considered herself unattractive either, but back in the Southern Water Tribe she encountered no boys near her age other than Sokka and, besides Jet, boasted little knowledge of sexuality between men and women. In short, she wasn't positive whether she was considered desirable by the opposite sex. Such thoughts rarely, to never at all, crossed her mind, but being around Zuko made her _aware_ of her body, in a way that made her shiver and drove her arm to block to her stomach and, simultaneously, induced her to stand straighter, as if to display confidence. In her mind, she admired how her well-toned body gave way to softer hips and, with alarm, she considered the possibility she _wanted_ Zuko to notice her hips as well. With an internal cry of alarm, she plopped her body abruptly back underneath the pool of hot water, hidden beneath small ripples.

She looked into the forest, in the opposite direction of the Fire Prince and listened for his response to her invitation. She heard the nearly silent footsteps approach and the soft rustling of fabric when he pulled his tunic over his head. She could _feel_ gold eyes on the right side of her face, and the water whispered and sloshed around her when Zuko stepped inside the hot spring. Through the water, Katara felt him settle against the wall of the spring opposite her.

She risked a glance at the firebender with his arms crossed over his chest, resting uncomfortably in the warm water, gold eyes still locked and narrowed on her.

"You'd think a hot water spring would be…warm, at least." He commented, at last.

"Only a firebender would think this water not warm enough." She snipped back.

Zuko raised his good eyebrow at her and a half smirk quirked across his lips. Immediately, Katara felt the temperature of the water around her spike. Steam lifted hazily around them twirling in the cool, night air to disintegrate some feet above their heads. After only a few moments, the heat became uncomfortable.

"Hey, knock it off!" She snapped at him, wriggling in the newly heated water.

Zuko's smirk only widened and, the next second, the temperature turned from uncomfortable to unbearable. Katara yelped and pulled herself up to sit on the ledge of the hot water spring. "You're awful," she glared at him.

Zuko laughed darkly in response to her words, "I've heard that one plenty of times before. You'll have to be more creative." Katara felt a small stab of guilt and looked back into the trees, away from him.

"Besides," He sighed, "That's revenge for disappearing on me."

Katara felt a moment of grudging respect, maybe, she did deserve the prank. With only her feet now submerged, Katara shivered, suddenly aware of the coolness of the Earth Kingdom evening. She dunked her legs deeper back into the hot water, and sighed softly when the heat shot up her legs into her chest.

"I'll let it cool off, you can get back in," Zuko surprised her with a genuine, small smile.

"Oh, so you're done boiling me like a sea prune?" She muttered, only pretending to still be upset.

Zuko chuckled at her words and a blush crept across Katara's cheeks when her heart leapt at the sound. Her eyes flickered back up to him and she observed how the water stuck loosely to the fringes of his dark hair and small beads of it dripped down his shoulders and over a strong collarbone. She imagined her own finger tracing the water off his chest and her lungs seized momentarily. Blushing still darker, Katara attempted to look away from him and folded her own arms over her chest.

 _You're water, he's fire, you don't match, knock it off._

But if she didn't match up with Zuko then how come she had him on her mind, constantly, for the better part of two weeks? Maybe, because she figured out another side of him she never imagined could exist in the Fire Lord's son. A side of vulnerability, bravery and kindness that enticed her since the moment she figured it out in Ba Sing Se. Thinking about the redeeming qualities of Zuko's person, she spoke out loud, "How did you and Azula end up so different?"

Zuko laughed harshly, "I don't want to talk about Azula."

Thinking about the new scar on her ankle, Katara felt inclined to agree, but her curiosity got the better of her. "You're siblings, after all, and you sounded close to your mom when you were young. What happened to you that made you, well, good and her, um…."

"Evil?" Asked Zuko sardonically. "She's a protégé," Zuko continued, each word escaping his mouth slowly, "since she was in diapers she picked up firebending faster than me and I'm a year older. She made fire first, mastered her basics months before I did and, now, she can produce lightening, a feat rare among firebenders. Needless to say, my father favored her since our childhood, I think he always wished she were the elder, that would have made her heir to the Fire Nation throne before me. _Fire Lord Ozai_ spent a lot of time with her, much more than with me. He wanted Azula to be just like him, and, I guess, she is now." He glared into the water with a depth of darkness Katara rarely witnessed from him.

"Well, I know my opinion doesn't matter much, but I don't care how talented she is, she's awful." Katara responded gently. "And you're not, in fact, you'll be the one to teach the Avatar to firebend! That makes you a master, all things considered." She smiled softly at his glowering face and pushed some water playfully towards him. He jumped when the drops landed on his face and looked up at her with surprise.

"If we find the avatar before the eclipse," He finally responded to her, his expression still cold.

Katara felt her spirits sink marginally at his words and she bit her lip nervously. They still had a week or so journey to the colonies and Aang's wounds were brutal. What if they reached him in time and he wasn't healed properly? Or what if Zuko was right and he healed, but _they_ failed to find the rebellion in time for the invasion. She chewed on her sore bottom lip, mind buzzing with all the worst case scenarios. A small splash of hot water flushed up her neck and onto her face shaking her from her reverie.

"Hey," Said Zuko seriously, "only I'm allowed to brood, you stay peppy, water tribe girl, that's how this works." She stared into his eyes, confused, and it took a minute for her to see the mirth in them and, after a moment, they both laughed.

Resting back against the smooth sandstone of the hot water spring, Katara smiled to herself, pleased with Zuko's lightheartedness. She liked to think he wanted to, and maybe already did, enjoy her company. Well, he did admit he liked talking to her, she reflected. Katara watched the firebender push sloppy, wet bangs from his forehead and her chest ached strangely, her body urged her to move closer to him and she acquiesced, sliding along the stone wall around to Zuko's side of the pool.

Zuko watched her approach with an unreadable expression, "What?" He asked, confusion betrayed by his voice.

"What?" Asked Katara, surprised and she blushed furiously and cursed her unthinking body for getting closer to him. All the while, her eyes raked over the defined muscles of his shoulders showing above the water and her chest ached again.

"You're staring, what is it?" Asked Zuko, his placid expression dropping and his eyes moved around her face nervously. His stare only made her blush more and her mind struggled to come up with an excuse. Tearing her eyes away from the Fire Prince, Katara stared into the dark tree line.

"Do you think we can win on the Day of Black Sun? From what I told you? You know the Fire Nation better than any of us."

She could feel Zuko shift uncomfortably at the turn of conversation. "I'm not sure," He murmured with honesty. "My father is cunning and ruthless and his guards consist of more than firebenders. He knows he will be most vulnerable the day of the eclipse, there will be an elaborate safety plan in place, not to mention the secret underground bunker. Plus, we better hope Azula stays put in Ba Sing Se. My father and her together could be…problematic."

"Secret bunker!" Katara exclaimed with alarm, then continued forcefully, "But, now, we have you, you know all about the Fire Nation and your dad and the palace city!" Katara interjected, placing a nervous hand on Zuko's shoulder. At the feel of his pale skin beneath her fingers, her stomach jerked wildly and her heart leapt into her throat. Heat spread across the spot where their skin made contact and she quickly withdrew her hand, shocked and nervous from her body's response to him.

"Having the Prince of the Fire Nation must give us some advantage! You're the real heir to the throne anyways, since you're older than Azula. That _must_ count for something, maybe, even some of the Fire Nation fighters will be inspired to join our side." She smiled at him, hopefully, but he avoided her gaze, glaring into the dark water surrounding them.

"I've been gone for over three years, Katara, the last time anyone in the Fire Nation saw or heard of me I was a thirteen year old boy. Like I said, all my information is outdated, I can try to help as much as possible, but…the only heir my country knows is Azula."

Katara pressed her lips together, sensing the dangerous territory in Zuko's life she tread upon. "If we win this war, Zuko, Azula won't be Fire Lord." She reminded him, softly.

Zuko's golden eyes wandered back up to hers and he stared at her intensely as he spoke, "And you think the Avatar will allow the son of Ozai to take the throne?"

"You won't be the son of Ozai to Aang, you'll be Sifu Zuko, his firebending teacher," Katara pointed out gently, "And, yes, I think Aang will not only allow it, he'll _want_ you to be Fire Lord and, together with him as the Avatar and you ruling the Fire Nation, we can heal this world." Zuko's eyes widened at her description of the future. Katara felt a brief moment of embarrassment for sharing her own grandiose idea of how the world could look, but she pushed the embarrassment behind her. She truly _believed_ they _could_ make the world a better place, so why not share her vision?

"The people of the Fire Nation would never accept me," He murmured and his hand travelled up to his scarred cheek, a look of pain flashed over his face. "I lost my honor a long time ago."

Katara's mouth dried and she struggled to swallow. Her body felt too warm so close to the firebender and she wasn't sure if it was him or her. Her heart ached for the obvious pain he was experiencing and the rest of her body ached in longing for mere contact. "Zuko," She only managed to get his name out before her hand followed his up over the scar on his face. As soon as her hand made contact with his skin again, both sets of eyes flickered upward and gold swallowed blue. Her mouth fell partly open as, again, heat spread from the point where her hand made contact. This time, she allowed the heat to travel up her arm and into her chest. Gently, she stroked a single finger over the leathery texture of his injured skin, wondering. "How did you get your scar?" She asked, her voice a whisper, but it felt important to ask since, obviously, the scar was related to Zuko's reluctance to accept his place as the next Fire Lord and a hopeful future.

Zuko's intense gold eyes dropped and narrowed so tightly they nearly closed. For a moment, Katara worried he would become angry with her or, even worse, never respond to her at all. Finally he spoke, "I'm not talking about that."

Not roughly, he pushed her hand away from his face and stood to exit the hot water spring. Water droplets ran down his hard, masculine form, but the look on his face chased the feeling from Katara's body and she shivered, worried how her question affected him.

 _It doesn't matter anyways,_ her voice admonished in her head, _you're_ only _supposed to be_ allies. She watched Zuko pull his discarded tunic back over his head, the fabric immediately sticking to his skin with dampness. Lamenting for the moment of closeness they experienced in the hot spring, Katara followed suit, bending the water from her body to walk back to camp beside Zuko dry, but still uncomfortable.

She slept poorly, partly because she slept all day on the back of their ostrich horse and, partly, because her mind tortured her with thoughts of Zuko. Cursing herself for proving unable to control her own body's urges, she tossed violently back and forth on her thin sleeping mat. Even the simple acknowledgment of her wants for physical closeness with the firebender filled her with shame and embarrassment. What would _Sokka_ say if he knew? She groaned out loud at the thought. Even more to the point, what would _Zuko_ do if he could have seen the way she thought about him in the hot spring? There was entirely zero possibility the Fire Nation royal son felt any attraction to her, a simple girl from a tiny water tribe on the bottom of the world. Besides, could she even trust Zuko completely? He nearly betrayed her once before already demonstrating the tricky nature of fire. Even worse, she suspected her attraction to the firebender was not entirely physical. She enjoyed his company more than she allowed herself to acknowledge and nothing filled her with joy quite the same way as when she succeeded in making the Fire Prince laugh.

Maybe, he could be more than an ally after all, maybe he could be a friend, but definitely, _definitely_ , nothing more than that. Pressing her lips together, Katara resolutely swore to the spirits to ignore her body's unwholesome reactions to Zuko. Curling into a ball under her blankets, she prayed for their journey back to Sokka, Aang, Toph and her father to pass quickly.

* * *

Thank you to the continued support for this story! Like I said before, this chapter and the next as well will not be following the Avatar season 3 episodes, because I think Katara and Zuko need some alone time ;) It's definitely more challenging as writer without each TV episode plot as a guide, let me know how you guys like it :)


	12. The Colonies

Chapter 12: The Colonies

Toph

She used to despise ships. Their metal interior prevented her from seeing and rendered her helpless, a feeling she loathed. But, thanks to her creation of metal bending, she "saw" perfectly fine on the large, iron Fire Nation vehicle. The Water Tribe warriors along with she, Sokka and a group of Jet's ex Freedom Fighters managed to highjack a Fire Nation ship following the fall of Ba Sing Se. The ship blessed them with much needed disguise and shelter. Donned in her Fire Nation armor, she walked around the deck of the ship, listening to the mingling conversations of the Water Tribe warriors. In particular, Sokka's voice stood out to her from his usual position at the helm of the vehicle, beside his father, Hakoda, who had begun teaching him important Water Tribe battle strategies and leadership techniques.

Whenever Toph sensed Sokka close to his father, she also felt the happiness and excitement it brought to him. Honestly, the closeness Sokka shared with his father invoked more than a couple guilty moments thinking of her own parents. They did love her after all, if not, in a convoluted and disappointing way.

For some reason, she thought of Zuko. Well, at least her parents didn't _banish_ her, she chose to run away. Thinking of Zuko guided her to thoughts about one of her best friends, Katara. She hoped the firebender and Katara escaped Ba Sing Se together, for some reason, the thought of Zuko with Katara leant her more comfort than Katara by herself. Zuko was a capable fighter who, she strongly suspected, hid a soft spot for the waterbender. He would protect her, Toph was confident. Though, if she were honest with herself, Katara would be capable of protecting herself if needed. Shaking her head, Toph attempted to chase the worrying thoughts from her mind.

"Toph!" Sokka greeted her, reaching in for a high five. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like the dead," she responded easily, clapping hands with her companion.

At the mention of death, she felt Sokka's heart skip a beat inducing the stress response in his body. She pressed her lips together, regretting her choice of words with Aang's feeble body coming to mind.

"Have you checked on him today?" She asked Sokka, softly, almost afraid for the answer.

She felt Sokka nod slowly, "He's hanging in there, Bato and I gave him his daily water, I'm worried he'll die of starvation if he doesn't wake up soon though and get some real food."

Toph's stomach clenched in guilt. It had been days since she stepped in to check on Aang's recovery. Through her earthbending, she could feel his feeble, heated body attempting to heal itself. She felt the cold sweats, the muscle spasms, the bursts of pain that, even in sleep, caused Aang's body to writhe into impossible shapes. Without Katara to help along and heal his injured back with her waterbending, the restoration of Aang's health promised to be a long ordeal. Toph only prayed to the spirits her friend recovered in time for the Day of Black Sun.

"I wish Katara were…." Sokka began, his voice falling in sorrow.

"I know," Toph responded, "I wish she were here too."

A commotion below deck and sounds of warriors shouting broke the mournful moment between them and Toph and Sokka looked to where the door leading to the underdeck flew open. Of course, with her earthbending, Toph already knew who it was before he tripped out onto the deck.

"Twinkletoes!" She exclaimed, excitement replacing her feelings of grief in an instant.

She and Sokka ran towards where Aang crouched on the deck looking dazed.

"Aang, good to see you back with the living, Buddy!" Sokka's excitement matched Toph's own and they both took a knee beside the Avatar smiling ear to ear.

Aang blinked slowly between the two of them, eyes raking over their Fire Nation uniforms. "Really? I feel like I'm dreaming." He said, words slightly slurred. Toph felt the thudding of his heart and shaking in his hands and legs.

"Uh oh," She spoke out loud, "Someone, we need some help over here! Aang's awake but he isn't doing too hot!" As soon the words left her mouth, the airbender groaned and collapsed fully onto the cold, metal deck.

…

Katara

The next couple weeks passed in a hazy, exhausting blur of relentless travel. They woke at dawn and travelled until dark, trading turns directing the ostrich horse while the other rested. Katara attempted to minimize the interaction between them, mostly, to ensure control over her own feelings. With minimal time to converse and skillful avoidance of watching Zuko when in any state of undress, Katara kept her thoughts in check. Honestly, she liked travelling with the Firebender. He didn't expect her to clean up after him and always met her halfway when helping set up camp or cooking meals. Plus, as long as their conversation remained in safe territory, Katara enjoyed conversing with him. Mostly, she shared stories from her childhood including explanations of Southern Water Tribe tradition mixed with humorous recounts of the trouble she and Sokka got into when kids. Sometimes, Zuko reciprocated with tales of happy memories, mostly of his mother, and his own description of Fire Nation holidays and day to day life. The stark contrast between their culture and childhood became apparent the more time they spent together bolstering Katara's _opposite elements_ inner mantra.

They reached the first Fire Nation colony villages, hopeful for news about a fleet of Water Tribe ships, but, their hope turned out in vain. No one in the peasant village reported any signs of Water Tribe warriors or a flying bison. Out of luck, Katara and Zuko spent the following twenty four hours travelling from village to village, asking the same series of questions on a repetitive cycle until their eyes turned bleary and tempers grew short.

"Katara, we need sleep," Zuko insisted in a low voice. They walked swiftly through their third village, feet slushing in cold, muddy streets. Katara glared at the ground as it passed below her. Her heart beat quickly in her chest and adrenaline still twitched in her fingers, but she could feel her mind shutting down. She longed to argue and urge they continue, but her tongue felt large and fuzzy in her mouth from dryness and her feet dragged underneath her despite their quick pace.

She cleared her throat, "Fine, we'll take even longer to find the others," She let the venom of her exhaustion seep into her voice. Zuko must have been too exhausted to argue because he kept his mouth shut at her words.

As they made their way back to their campsite, Katara paused to stare above her in the sky. The bright moon above sent rays to sink into her skin offering comfort and support. Just from the intensity of the moon's brightness, Katara determined they were just shy a couple weeks to the next full moon. She closed her eyes and allowed her face to bathe in the moon's glory and her stomach stirred with the familiar urge to water bend. She sighed with annoyance, realizing she left her water skins and canteen at camp. A foolish mistake certainly, considering she and Zuko were both wanted by the Fire Nation and likely to be attacked, even in the colonies.

"Are you ok?" Zuko's voice cut through her moment of reflection and Katara nodded in his direction, amazed he still managed to sound concerned despite her snapping at him. She hurried to walk by his side again, but the tingling in her hands and urge to waterbend never left her fingertips. She sighed internally and wished she could summon water at a whim in the way firebenders summoned flames.

…

Zuko 

He slept like a rock through the night, even missing the rising of the sun. In fact, he woke to the sound of boiling water and, crawling out of his tent, observed Katara awake before him for the first time during their travels together and halfway through preparing breakfast.

Zuko observed how her hair hung loosely around her face that morning and she sat slightly hunched, as though weighted down at her shoulders. Zuko supposed finding the Avatar and her brother meant much more to her than himself and felt a stab of sympathy. He may not know what it felt like to have family waiting for his return, but, no doubt, Katara's family missed her equally, and Sokka and her father would be looking for her just as she searched for them. From the stories she shared over the past couple weeks of their travels, Zuko gauged Katara loved her family with a passion and her brother and father returned these feelings. Katara grew up with few children her age and, from her tales, it sounded as if Sokka were not only her brother, but, also her best friend. Thinking of how important the Water Tribe boy was to Katara, Zuko wondered nervously how Sokka would react to _him_ when they reached the others.

Moving closer to the campfire, Zuko murmured as comfortingly as he could muster, "We will find them, Katara. I tracked the Avatar across the world, I'll be damned if I can't find him one more time."

Blue eyes met his own and his heart skipped a beat. Before Katara, he had never seen eyes like hers. Blue eyes were rare in the Earth Kingdom and simply didn't exist in the Fire Nation. And hers were so, so blue like the ocean on a winter morning. Honestly, they took his breath away and dangerously drew him in. He stared unabashed, willing her eyes to remain on him, if only for an excuse to continue to look at her. His brain played an image of his own hand reaching out to her face, touching her skin then running through her loose, dark hair. The required muscles in his arm twitched eagerly, but he ripped his gaze from hers instead and let his eyes focus on the fire between them.

"I want to spar again," She told him seriously, her shoulders squaring and eyes narrowing.

Zuko snorted, "You still owe me from the last time." He pointed out, reluctant to fight her again. For one, he wasn't confident he could win the second time around and, two, he loathed the idea of hurting her.

Katara chewed on her lip, "I know, but, I'm experimenting."

"Experimenting?" Asked Zuko, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I want to watch you fight," She admitted, looking away.

Zuko's face reddened maddeningly and he dropped his own gaze, embarrassed. "Ugh, why?" He asked. He noticed her watching his firebending forms in the past, but she seemed to have lost interest in it.

"You create fire, like, from the inside," She pressed her hand against her own chest. "I want to watch that and, when you're fighting, it comes so easily…"

Zuko admitted to himself grudgingly, yes, firebending had always been easiest for him when fighting, when he could fuel his internal flames with rage or the instinctive need to survive. But he felt no rage towards Katara, not anymore, really, not ever. She angered him when she stood as a barrier between himself the Avatar, but now that they all played for the same team…In fact, his feelings for Katara bordered on protective and, even, affectionate, in a way that alarmed him greatly.

"Ok," He agreed rising to his feet reluctantly. In the end, he didn't have the strength to turn her down. She smiled, pleased with his response and moved to take a position some twenty feet apart from him. Zuko shrugged out of his shirt and kicked off his shoes, per usual when he sparred and he heard a strange breath of sound from Katara. He looked over at her, but she stood resolutely, crouched in a fighting stance and he wondered if he even heard a noise from her at all.

"Firebending comes from the breath," He explained, feeling strangely akin to his uncle. "When we breathe in the air feeds the energy of our chi. The fire exists inside of us all the time and it wants to get out, firebending is learning how to command and control that fire."

Zuko wasted no time, punching the air between them to send a blast of flames towards his opponent. Katara spun along the forest floor, avoiding the attack and a whip of water flung towards him which he reduced to steam with a wall of fire. Fighting in the woods offered the additional challenge of ready to burn foliage, which Zuko attempted to avoid not wanting to attract attention to their spot with the smoke. Katara fought differently than in their first spar, maneuvering similar to an airbender and evading his attacks. She took less offensive and moved in a slow circle around him, her eyes observing his movements. The focused attention of Katara's eyes on him compelled him to impress her, but his wanting to impress her only made him sloppier than usual.

Raising a series of sharpened icicles into a semicircle in front of him, Katara launched an unexpected multi angle attack, forcing Zuko to focus his attention on the most dangerous of the ice daggers aimed for his core allowing the outer daggers to graze his left arm and right calf.

To retaliate, Zuko cast a series of thin fire whips from his fingers which weaved and burned their way towards Katara. The waterbender managed to push back the majority of his attack with a defensive wave of water, but Zuko, simultaneously raised his opposite hand to send another unrelenting wave of spindling fire whips. These ones hit their mark wrapping around her right leg dragging her forward and burning through her kimono. Zuko winced at her yelp of pain, withdrawing his fire. Katara stumbled, but stayed on her feet. She raised an impressive jagged blade of ice from the ground and began sending sharpened discs at him one by one. With each disc, she took a step towards him, pressing the offensive for the first time in their spar.

Zuko stood his ground, letting her shuffle closer and closer while he deflected each deadly oval disc. Finally, Katara stood hardly an armlength from him and his eyes locked with her magnificent blue. He lost his breath and, next, he lost his footing when Katara's water whip knocked him hard onto his back. His mind still stuck on her blue eyes, Zuko struggled to save himself and find his feet again. The sharp impact of her knee with his stomach knocked any lingering oxygen from his body. She knelt partly on top of his body, her hair strewn half across her face, half in the breeze, with triumphant ocean eyes.

He stared up at her, realizing how close she really was to him with their faces only a hands length apart. He could reach up, just a few more inches, to the back of her neck and lead her lips down to his. He could grab hold of her waist and move her slightly to the right so her legs straddled his body. His heart beat rapidly in his chest and a new heat that had nothing to do with firebending spread throughout his body. Katara's chest heaved, her fast breathing matching his own and Zuko longed to make her breathe like that for a different reason.

They stayed, frozen, on the ground, eyes locked gold on blue and Zuko willed the waterbender to collapse into his arms, willed his fantasy to come to reality. Katara's own eyes relaxed from fierce victory into something else. They darted over his face and then his chest and stomach to where her own knee remained non-moving as if glued to him. Releasing a soft sound of surprise, she rolled off him onto her bottom next to him on the ground.

"Um, I win," She said, her voice heaved slightly from the exertion of combat. Zuko liked how she sounded breathless, liked how she looked messy and natural after a fight. He rolled over and sat back on his knees to look at her.

"Now we're indebted to each other, you'll have to think of a new deal, waterbender, since the bison no longer needs saving."

Katara snorted, "Yah a new deal, ok."

"Whatever you want from me," He opened his arms slightly while watching her reaction closely, "you won."

"You still haven't said what you want from _me_ , for winning the first time," Katara pointed out, her cheeks blushing (or maybe it was just a lingering pink from their fight?)

Zuko's eyes moved over her soft form from the curve of her waist to the curves of her breasts and up to the curve of soft lips. He knew what he wanted and gritted his teeth shaking his head to himself.

 _Don't be a creep. You're still a prince (sort of) show some respect,_ he commanded himself.

"Make sure the Avatar and your brother don't murder me when we find them." He responded, at last, and rose to his feet.

He walked away from her, admonishing his own thoughts and feeling badly for not showing Katara the respect she deserved, even if such thoughts remained in his own mind. The idea of ever expressing those thoughts out loud stunned him with fear. She would laugh, or worse, be afraid and disgusted. He had been her enemy for the better part of the last year, feelings of animosity didn't vanish in weeks, she couldn't possibly have completely forgiven or forgotten his transgressions. Besides, he had nothing to offer Katara, no home, no family, and no money, unless, he helped the Avatar win this war. And even then, she may have said he could be the next Fire Lord, but could he? The thought frightened him senseless. How could the Fire Nation accept a banished prince as their ruler? And how would the rest of the world accept the son of a murderous tyrant?

Feeling slightly wretched, Zuko packed the rest of his belongings, pointedly ignoring Katara's questioning eyes. They approached the colonial fishing village on foot and without conversation. Walking through the narrow, busy streets, Zuko observed more red dress than green, which made sense considering this particular village was the closest of the colonies to his home country. As they made their way past the docks, Zuko even scanned the ocean's horizon, peering for some glimpse of an island, just a distant peek at his nation.

He didn't realize he stopped walking until a warm hand landed on his arm. Jumping slightly, Zuko looked down at Katara beside him and his heart clutched at the sympathetic smile she wore. "We need to stay focused," She spoke gently.

Zuko nodded sharply, "Of course. We should stay by the docks though, see what we can learn around here."

"Why?" Asked Katara, frowning and observing the combination of Fire Nation soldiers and Earth Kingdom civilians crowding the dock.

"Fisherman love to talk," He explained, "And so do soldiers. And where better than the dock with them all corralled together?" He allowed a half smile to slip past his lips.

Katara nodded in agreement. Zuko noted her hand remained on his arm and he stalled moving, regretting the moment her hand moved away.

They braced the midday sun, sitting by the water's edge or strolling around the decks, attempting to blend in. With the larger proportion of Fire Nation ensemble, Zuko felt their green and brown outfits from Ba Sing Se stuck out, making him uncomfortable. But these Fire Nation soldiers were used to Earth Kingdom civilians and never glanced at the pair of teenagers twice.

Zuko learned a lot about fishing net durability, riptides and weather patterns from the fisherman, but no clues to the Avatar. Save, a rather disturbing rumor which came to their attention. In hushed voices, a group of old, withered fisherman played a game of Pai Sho over lunch. Zuko and Katara pretended to take their own meals nearby to better eavesdrop.

An old man with a lazy eye sighed and cast a cautious glance towards where a group of soldiers laughed some twenty feet away. "Did y'all men hear? 'Bout Ba Sing Se? Guess we'll be fishin' for these red peacocks rest of our lives." He stuck his thumb out indicating the group of Fire Nation soldiers.

A slightly younger man with a brown and gray striped beard replied, "Oh, Ri, don't get your panties in a twist. Ba Sing Se was begging to go down for years now, forget that wall, the air nomads lived in the _sky_ and the Fire Nation still got to them. Besides, Ba Sing Se wasn't going to save nobody from the firebenders, the Avatar is."

The partly blinded man, Ri, let out a delirious snort and threw his hands into the air, "Young man, you 'aven't heard then!" He exclaimed and took his time to pack a pipe with tobacco, while the rest of the men looked on, urging him to continue with abrupt attention. After taking in a long puff, he eyed the man with the striped beard. "The Avatar was killed, dead and gone now, hmm, just like the past 100 years. Didn' last long, eh?" The other men in the group murmured, shocked, amongst themselves.

Zuko felt Katara stiffen beside him followed by a shudder. He attempted to reach out for her, but the girl leapt to her feet with a stifled cry. He followed quickly, taking long strides to chase her down. She moved along the decks rapidly and he grabbed a shoulder to steady her. She turned to face him with lips pressed white together and arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"Katara, it's ok, it's just a bunch of-of gossip!" He attempted to console her speaking rapidly in hushed tones.

"What if it isn't?" She hissed back, "I healed Aang in the catacombs, but what if I wasn't enough? What if he needed more? I wasn't there to make sure everything healed _right_ , to make _sure_ he lived." The midday sun shone off her dark braid and her eyes blinked against the invading light. The nearby ocean appeared to reflect off her eyes every time she turned her face to the water and Zuko nearly lost the ability to speak taking her in. Her lower lip trembled and her nails dug into the opposite forearms. He felt a stab of a distinct, familiar emotion. It took his brain a minute to process that he felt _jealous_ , jealous for how distraught Katara appeared over the airbender and how much she seemed to care for the young man. A beautiful young woman such as Katara certainly would never mourn his passing.

Not sure how to continue in his moment of envy, he ran his hands through his hair tugging as he went hoping the small tugs of pain would jog his brain with something good to say to comfort Katara. He watched her attempt to hide the fear and sorrow from her face and the way her forehead creased with the effort. A single tear escaped a moist, blue eye and she hastily turned away from him, visibly embarrassed for her display of emotion. He doubted telling her she was gorgeous even when crying would help.

Moving to stand in front of her again, he caught her eye and gripped one of her shoulders again with his hand. "Look, Katara those rumors were probably started by Azula. Of course after capturing Ba Sing Se she would also want to crush the Earth Kingdom people's spirits, make them abandon any hopes of rebelling. Remember what I told you? Azula _always_ lies. Or, maybe she really does believe she killed the avatar! But, either way, we know she's wrong. Aang, isn't dead." Zuko realized he was rambling, but Katara's eyes were huge and she seemed to be soaking in every reassuring word he spoke.

He paused for breath and felt his own heart racing with concern for the upset girl in front of him. He cursed his own emotional retardation and inexperience with providing comfort. Who knew he would ever even _want_ those skills?

The group of soldiers passed by close to them at a leisurely pace, sending brief, curious glances at the tense couple before continuing their conversation. Zuko and Katara picked up on a soldier exclaiming, "And they say some little, _blind_ girl was bending _metal!_ Metal, can you believe it? Gotta be a dumbass to believe such a story!" One soldier with dark stubble chuckled, leaning in towards his companion who also grinned.

"I always knew Captain Cho was a bit…unstable. Did you hear the bit about the wolf heads? Capt said the soldiers on the ship had _the heads of wolves_? Like straight out of the spirit world bullshit. Besides the ship he claimed they "captured" was a part of Admiral Chan's fleet. Admiral Chan's entire fleet is on the other side of the world, not patrolling Fire Nation waters." The two soldiers chuckled again and shook their heads at each other in shared amusement.

Zuko and Katara stood face to face, frozen, ears practically perked in the air, listening to the soldiers retreat. Finally, Zuko broke the silence, "Did any of that mean anything to you?"

Katara appeared ashen and her shoulder shook underneath his grasp. "Wolf heads…" She whispered, as if to herself.

"Are important because…?" Zuko prompted her, the gruesome image of a dead, beheaded wolf coming to mind.

"They're part of the honorable ensemble of a warrior in the Southern Water Tribe," She replied slowly.

Zuko began to nod, excitement filling his chest. "And how many bending blind girls do we know?" He continued, eagerly.

"Yes," Katara nodded her head, "But all that about bending metal, I don't know what that was?" She frowned questionably.

Zuko shrugged, too excited at where the soldiers' information was leading them. "Maybe that captain really is off his rocker."

Finally, his excitement seemed to catch up with his companion. Katara's lips parted slightly and her body ceased its anxious shivering. "This is what we've been waiting for," She smiled up at him. "My dad and the Water Tribe fleet are close by! And Toph, Sokka and Aang _must_ be with them."

"Only one problem," Zuko's voice turned cold, "They're sailing in Fire Nation waters."

…

Katara 

Overall, Katara figured the Fire Nation couldn't be _much_ more dangerous than anywhere in the Earth Kingdom, with the recent fall of Ba Sing Se. However, the Fire Nation presented its own set of problems, primarily, being comprised of a series of islands. This meant, despite Katara's moral misgivings, they needed a boat and, certainly, could not afford to purchase one. Eager to get back to her family and friends, Katara argued to leave that very afternoon, but Zuko convinced her they needed one more night to collect supplies, locate an ideal boat and find Fire Nation clothing.

They spent the afternoon "shopping", also known as, ripping off unsuspecting store owners and merchants. Katara buried her guilt with the knowledge they needed the supplies to find the Avatar and _save the world._ They also managed to put together a couple decent Fire Nation outfits. Katara's consisted of a long, flowing skirt in varying shades of burgundy and a lighter, red top that displayed a few good inches of midriff, as was the popular style for girls her age in the hot Fire Nation climate. Zuko found a simple red short sleeved top and maroon three quarter length pants. He also grabbed a dark red robe with black threading.

"Only a firebender would think they'll need a _robe_ on a tropical island." Katara remarked with a smirk.

"I could just not wear a shirt at all, like you," Zuko quipped back.

Katara's face turned beet red and she wrapped her arms protectively over her stomach. The idea that Zuko even _noticed_ her clothes, or lack thereof, escalated her heart rate and dried her tongue. Again, she wondered if he ever considered her attractive, even for a moment, even if he himself wasn't interested. Of course, she admired how he looked in the colors of his home nation. She liked the way the darker reds contrasted with his pale skin and brought out the darker amber shades of his gold eyes. She liked how she caught glimpses of the outline of his well formed torso through the thin fabric and her eyes ran over his on display well-muscled arms more times than she cared to admit even in her own mind. She wanted to know what those arms felt like wrapped around her now exposed waist.

Forcing her eyes away from the Fire Nation Prince, she focused on her views of the coastal town. The town survived economically off the ocean, using the resource to its advantage and allowing for cleaner streets, stronger architecture and overall happier civilians than the other colonial villages they passed. Self-made merchants lined the streets, similar to Ba Sing Se and delicious scents of various seafood dishes drifted through the air.

"We should get dinner in the village," She heard herself saying, "Save the supplies for the boat ride, what do you think?" She glanced up at Zuko, almost nervous for a reason she couldn't identify.

Zuko only shrugged, "Sure, you're the cook, you make the calls."

Katara raised an eyebrow, since when was she the boss? Maybe, he wanted to make up to her for his rude comment earlier about her shirt. Sniffing a bit indignantly at the memory, Katara surveyed her surroundings for a good place. One lively tavern caught her eye, well, more her nose. The fishy smell drifting from the open window reminded her of sea prune stew and the cheerful music sounded welcoming. Besides, her mood was fairly high at the moment. The next day they would set out to rejoin the group and, finally, they had a clue on where to search.

Leading Zuko, Katara strode confidently toward the tavern, excited to relax for a moment and eat a decent meal not prepared by her own hand. Many of the village's civilians crowded the small tavern holding small, round glasses filled with a sharp smelling liquid, in which their seemed mixed chili flakes.

"Fire whiskey," Zuko answered her unspoken question. "Not recommended if you want to keep your wits about you."

" _Definitely not_ then," Katara wrinkled her nose at the substance. They took a seat some distance from the livelier portion of the crowd.

"Aye, how are you tonight?" Their waitress greeted with a broad grin, "Popular date night tonight, good weather for it, I suppose." It was then Katara became aware their corner of the tavern consisted one hundred percent of couples. Slightly embarrassed, her cheeks tinged pink.

"We're not together," She blurted, only making her cheeks heat more.

"Oh, well ok," The waitress sent Katara an odd, calculating look and she shrank under her gaze, unable to look at Zuko at all. The waitress recovered a moment later with a new smile, "Well, still a great night to be out. Live performances all night long, so enjoy!"

They placed food orders and Katara, finally, managed to look Zuko in the eye.

"Friendly service," Zuko remarked with a small smile. His humor relaxed Katara and she smiled in return even giggling from relief for the dissipating awkwardness. Zuko shook his head at the couples surrounding them, "Suckers," He murmured.

"What?" Asked Katara, confused.

"Oh, dinner dates suck, well, in my opinion," Zuko frowned at the table. In that moment, the image of him kissing the Earth Kingdom girl in Ba Sing Se forced its way into Katara's mind and her stomach nearly dropped into her toes. Sucking a deep breath into her lungs, Katara looked away from the firebender, willing her body to get a hold of itself. So what if Zuko kissed that girl? So what if Zuko went on a hundred dinner dates and kissed a hundred girls? Her train of thought made her gut squeal.

"I wouldn't know anything about dinner dates." She admitted. _Did I just say that out loud?_

"Really?" Zuko looked truly surprised which Katara took as a compliment.

"Really, our tribe is small. No men my age besides Sokka." She shrugged and fiddled with the tip of her braid.

She glanced up at the Fire Nation prince to gauge his reaction and thought, maybe, he looked a little pleased with her words. "Honestly, I thought you must be the Avatar's girlfriend after travelling across the world with him." He had mentioned she and Aang's relationship before and it took her by surprise again. Yes, Aang was a great friend, but he was so, so young and immature. She couldn't be with Aang romantically, at least, not now. She had a strong suspicion Aang hoped for something between them in the future and this made her distinctly uncomfortable. She nearly told Zuko as much, but shut her mouth at the last second, feeling like such a confession betrayed Aang's confidence.

"Nothing like that," She said, instead. "I mean I've had _interest_ before and I've been on, ugh, dates just nothing serious." She thought of her time with Jet and wondered if their quick relationship counted as "dating". She had kissed him and done more than that with him too. They never had sex of which she felt great relief. Jet turned out to be a monster and much too conceited for her liking. The next second, she felt a stab of guilt for thinking poorly of the deceased. Jet tried to redeem himself in his last moments of life, for that, she owed him credit.

Desperate to steer the conversation away from herself she asked, "Well, what about you? You already said you hate dinner dates. I mean, you must have had girlfriends before, you are a prince after all."

His gold eyes met hers with intensity and she experienced the now familiar feeling that he was looking straight _through_ her, rather than just at her. Something in her chest stirred and she waited with bated breath for his response.

"Girlfriends? Hardly." He responded, drumming his fingers on the table. "But I was betrothed."

"Betrothed?" Katara's mouth fell open with surprise, "How old were you?"

He looked at her with amusement, "The arrangement was signed while I was still an infant. To Mai, daughter of Ukano, he's an important governor in the Fire Nation. I think he's in charge of Omashu now."

"Mai?" Asked Katara, incredulously, "Like Azula's friend Mai? The goth one with the daggers?" She moved her hand through the air, mimicking the tossing of a knife.

Zuko chuckled at her continued astonishment. "The very same, we were sort of together by the time I got banished. Of course, the arrangement disintegrated after my banishment, along with the rest of my birthright."

Katara caught the hard note in his tone, but the uncomfortable prickling in her gut and tightening in her chest compelled her to continue the conversation. "Do you wish you were still betrothed to her?" She asked, the question striking a Mai inspired dagger into her chest while she waited for his answer.

 _Stop, it doesn't matter, Katara. It doesn't matter if Zuko still likes Mai or wishes he were marrying her. She makes sense, she's Fire Nation, she's like him._

Zuko's eyes narrowed seriously at her, "Not at all," He growled with surprising emotion. "Termination of my arranged marriage was one of the only good things to come from my banishment. Of course, they're tradition for the Fire Nation royal family, but it felt like bondage to me, even as a boy."

Katara allowed a soft breath of relief to escape through her lips. _He doesn't want to be with Mai_. Her heart seemed to warm and expand in her chest. In response, she tightened her hand around her wrist using her fingernails to pinch into her skin to help offset some of the warm, confusing feelings in her body. The number of times she called herself a fool around Zuko in a day was quickly becoming astronomical.

Katara's nose caught the scent of their approaching food before it reached the table and she relished in the opportunity to take a break from her emotionally draining conversation with the young man across from her. Tucking into fish chowder, she forced her brain to focus on the flavors embracing her tongue and listen to the pleasant music reaching her ears. For a few minutes, they ate in comfortable silence.

The live band took on a softer tune as the waitresses went around to dim some of the candles surrounding the tavern. Katara hummed along with the foreign rhythms, relaxing into her seat and smiling across the table towards Zuko.

"Uncle liked to host music nights on our ship," Zuko shared, his eyes staring distantly at the band performing. "He loves music and dancing."

"Did he teach you then?" Asked Katara playfully, "How to dance?"

Zuko cocked his eyebrow while he looked back across the table towards her. "Perhaps." Then continued, "He was more interested in teaching me to play the tsungi horn."

Katara laughed out loud at the thought of Zuko playing any instrument. "And how were you?" She inquired, still giggling.

"Fantastic, I nearly abandoned my quest to find the Avatar to join a band." He wrinkled his nose and continued, wryly. "How do you think? I sucked and I hated it." He folded his arms and glared at her.

Katara laughed aloud a second time, "A musician, and he makes jokes," She inclined her head towards him. Zuko seemed to fight the smile spreading across his face, but gave in and chuckled towards her. Katara's own heart lifted in response to the happy expression on his face.

A slow melody picked up from the band and a number of couples around them stood from their recently consumed dinners to dance. Katara watched the girls blush with excitement while, equally nervous, young men placed hesitant hands on their waists. She noticed the way Zuko sat up in his seat, his eyes darting back to the band. "This is a popular Fire Nation song," he explained. "Usually sang as a lullaby to children." He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, "My mom use to sing it, back when I was young."

Katara turned her gaze to the band where a young woman took her place in the front to sing. Katara admired the young lady's courage. She dreaded singing in front of her tribe, even at communal celebration bonfires. The music that reached her ears was slow and somewhat mournful, but beautiful at the same time.

Katara caught Zuko staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. He frowned at her quizzically, as if trying to solve a difficult puzzle. "Katara, would you want to dance with me?" He asked, the words coming out of his mouth slowly, as if testing how they felt on his tongue.

Katara took a moment to catch her bearings. When the question sank in, her heart fluttered behind her ribcage beating all the way up into her throat. Her palms moistened with nerves and she wiped them on her skirt.

"Um, yes, ya, sure." _Say yes one more way Katara and I swear to the spirits._

Zuko rose from his seat and so did she, her knees feeling wobbly beneath her weight. Keeping their eyes trained toward the other, they circled either side of their dinner table to enter the cleared space where the other couples in the tavern had taken up. They faced each other square on and Katara's head spun. She swallowed nervously and her hands shook when she moved to place them, one behind Zuko's neck and the other along the outer edge of his arm. She prayed to the spirits her palms stopped sweating before the Fire Prince noticed.

 _Get a hold of yourself it's just a dance between friends. Friends?_

She felt Zuko's own hands land softly on the uncovered skin of her waist. His palms felt hot, dry and calloused, exactly the way she expected the hands of a firebender to feel. Goosebumps erupted across her stomach while her heart catapulted from ones side of her ribcage to the other. Heat spread up towards her neck and a shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. His hands were on her _skin_ , actually touching her by choice, not by accident or as part of a sparring match. Her body burned for more contact and her own hand at the back of Zuko's neck tightened. She wished to feel more of _his_ skin, and wondered what would it feel like to rub her hands down his lean arms or over the skin of his chest?

She got her wish answered when Zuko pulled her closer to his body, so the tips of her breasts hovered centimeters from contact, occasionally, grazing the front of his shirt. The effect the contact had on her was dizzying. They swayed to a simple, slow two step movement and Katara tried to ignore the way the thin fabric of Zuko's shirt created friction against the intimate tips of her chest. Some deep, instinctual urge throbbed low in her pelvis. In that moment, she _wanted_ him, so poignantly it was impossible to deny or ignore. She looked up from his chest into his gold eyes while her breaths shortened and picked up in speed.

She stared at thin, pink lips and imagined how it would feel for _her_ to be on the receiving end of those lips. She dreamed as much before and thought about it more than she allowed her brain to ratify. Her entire body sang for her to move towards the Fire Prince, to bring their faces together. In that moment, with the two of them wrapped in each other, and soft music surrounding them, opposite elements didn't matter, being born to different nations didn't matter, not even the 100 year war mattered, not when being pressed so intimately into Zuko felt so _right_. His hands skimmed along the skin on her waist trailing heated lines in their wake.

Staring up at his face Katara whispered, "So your uncle did teach you to dance." She caught a whiff of amusement cross his face and the half smile that followed undid the last of her resolve. Tipping forward onto her toes, she fiercely captured Zuko's mouth with her own. The second her lips touched his, her entire body lit on fire from the tips of all ten toes to the crown of her head. A sound escaped her she didn't know was possible to make. For a brief moment, Zuko responded, his hands tightening, almost possessively, around her waist and his lips pressed back so hard it hurt. She didn't care about the small amount of pain on her lips, the pleasure seeping throughout the rest of her body far tipped the scale.

Abruptly, Zuko's face jerked away from hers and his body's warmth disappeared as the firebender stepped back from her. His eyes portrayed his confusion and shock, and his good eyebrow sailed far up his forehead into his hairline. She watched him push his bangs from his face while opening and closing his mouth.

Finally he spoke, "I- why did you…?" He gestured between them, seeming lost for words.

Katara's throat tightened and her heart nearly stopped. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was doing, I'm sorry." Horrified, with tears threatening to erupt, she turned heel and ran out of the tavern. She felt the judgmental eyes of their waitress follow her out the door, but she had no intention of stopping.

Running along the muddy, partially paved street, Katara sucked in lungfuls of cool air, she and Zuko's kiss playing on repeat in her mind. She ran until the stitch in her side demanded she stop. Collapsing against a nearby building, Katara rubbed her eyes roughly and shook her head fiercely, as if trying to shake the past ten minutes from her memory.

 _What_ had she done? Kissing _Zuko_ , the Prince of the Fire Nation? She barely even knew him, really. They were so _different_ , so why did she feel such an undeniable attraction to him? A blatantly one sided attraction, by the way he pushed her off him. She groaned out loud. Well, what did she expect? She knew Zuko wouldn't be interested in her. Really, she shouldn't be interested in him either.

As if she needed more trouble, a group of loud young soldiers came around the corner, laughing boisterously and shoving each other. After dinner at the tavern, Katara suspected the soldiers suffered from the effects of a little too much firewhiskey. Groaning internally, she prayed to the spirits for the men to pass her by. Like most of her prayers, they went unanswered.

"Hello, hello, Little Lady," Cooed one soldier, eyes bulging out of his head when he caught sight of her.

"My, she's a sight for hungry eyes," One of his companions responded.

"Leave me alone," She hissed, eyes narrowing at her own feet. Normally, a group of drunk soldiers raised no worries with the waterbender, but her hand clutched across her empty hip and she realized she forgot her water canteens in the tavern. A small amount of acid crept up from her stomach into the base of her throat.

"Come on, just talk to us, Baby Girl."

Katara began to stalk away, moving as fast her legs would carry without breaking into a run. She prayed again they let her go. But a large, rough hand reached out grabbing her by the arm.

"No need to hurry off, Pretty, we just want to talk."

"Yah, talk to us, Sweetheart, been a long time since we talked with such a lovely face."

The man who held her arm tugged roughly to force her to turn and face the group. Katara caught wind of a large gust of alcohol breath and she nearly gagged.

"Ever seen eyes like that?" One of the soldiers stepped forward, leaning in towards her face. "Blue like that?"

Katara hated the way the man's own eyes widened, as if impressed. Gathering her strength, she launched a knee upward aimed for the man's lower stomach. A clean blow sent the soldier backwards and bending over, clutching an arm over the wounded area.

"Bitch!" He hissed. Swinging his body weight around towards her he aimed a fist towards her face which Katara narrowly dodged. A man somewhere behind her caught hold of her braid and tugged hard sending shooting pain across the surface of her scalp.

Katara yelped and attempted to pull her hair from his grasp, but the man held tight. The others approached with leering grins.

"Should have been a good girl, we only wanted to talk." The one who nearly landed a blow on her face stepped close again. True fear squeezed her stomach and adrenaline pumped in her veins. Her hands tingled and she thought of water, her greatest weapon. Just a little puddle and she could whip these men into a pile of rubble. Her hand seemed to move on its own accord palm down toward the dirt street, sweeping around the left side of her body, searching. A shock jolted her when the ground beneath her feet seemed to stir.

Did she just _earthbend_? Her scared, frenzied brain attempted to make sense of the situation. She moved her hand again and the tingling intensified in her palm, then, she _felt it_ , the _water_ beneath the damp, cold dirt street, lingering beneath her sandals just barely out of reach. She focused all her energy into the palms of her hand, calling to the buried water supply in the ground, begging the moon and ocean spirits to help her.

The leering, intoxicated soldier moved to touch her face with a cold, rough hand. The next moment a small spurt of water split the dirt apart between them. Only a small amount, maybe a half a water canteen worth, spilled out around her feet. But that was all Katara needed to take out a group of drunken Fire Nation soldiers.

Two things happened at once, Katara raised a fearsome water whip between herself and the soldier reaching for her face, a smirk spreading across her mouth. Also, the man behind her let out a cry of pain and the relief of pressure across her scalp informed her he had released her hair. Focused on the man in front of her, Katara sent a freezing slash of water across his torso which knocked the soldier some twenty feet sliding on his back.

She twirled around spinning the water as a shield around her body, just in time to see a man with dual swords take down two of the soldiers with a well placed swing. The rest of the soldiers caught wind of a losing battle and took off.

Katara's smirk disappeared and she glared fiercely. "I can take care of myself!" She shouted, angrily, at the swordsman's familiar scarred face. "I had them!"

"Didn't look like that from where I was standing," Zuko responded, his face equally enraged.

Katara fought the urge to send her water whip after _him._ "Well, maybe you need to get your eyesight checked."

"Maybe you need to get your temper checked," Zuko hissed back, stepping closer to her. Katara's eyes went, involuntarily, to his lips. The vivid memory of them pressed against her own flooded her mind, followed, by the rejection of him pulling away. The fight slid out of her body leaving her chilled and shaky.

" _You_ telling _me_ to check my temper, who would have thought," She responded coldly, but lacking the energy of an argument.

Zuko's expression softened and his face reddened. "Katara, about earlier, I-"

"Stop, it's ok," Katara interjected, "It was stupid and I didn't mean anything by it. Can we just forget it ever happened?" Even as she spoke, a shiver spread throughout her body, just thinking about the kiss between them. She would not be able to forget that moment easily, not when her brain and body betrayed her with every opportunity when it came to the Fire Prince. But, her own thoughts be damned, she would try.

An emotion flickered across Zuko's face Katara struggled to read. Maybe, disappointment? But that was impossible, clearly, Zuko did not share any of the feelings she harbored, not even the basic physical attraction. The thought made Katara self-conscious and she crossed her arms over her exposed stomach while waiting for his response.

"That's…probably for the best," Zuko murmured, looking away from her.

Embarrassed and exhausted, Katara began the trek back to their campsite. Tomorrow, they had plans to steal a boat and enter the Fire Nation, a large enough challenge without the awkward tension now created between them. Katara bit her lip and hoped, somewhere out there, her brother and friends were having a better night than her.

* * *

Longest chapter yet! Again, thanks for all reviews and reads, favorites, follows ect :) A lot happening with a good dose of Zutara and, yes, that is Katara getting curious about the abilities of her waterbending so you all know where that's leading, let me know what you think, happy holidays!


	13. The Innkeeper

Chapter 13: The Innkeeper

Sokka 

Another week passed with relative ease. Sokka viewed each day as a gritting, but rewarding victory, especially, when it came to Aang's painfully slow recovery. After his initial awakening, the boy spent twenty four hours coming in and out of consciousness, his body and mind fighting against pain to remain awake. The first few times Aang woke, Sokka and Toph made sure to stay by his side, all while convincing him to get as much food into his stomach as possible.

Sokka admired the younger boy's resilience and his determination to heal and regain his strength. Each day since, he and Aang went through morning exercise routines together to help Aang's muscles return to full functionality. The airbender spent the remainder of the days either training with Toph (as much as was possible on a metal ship) or practicing his airbending. Despite Aang's interest in metalbending, Toph worried the new technique would overwhelm the already exhausted avatar and the three of them agreed Aang should focus on perfecting the skills he already mastered.

The worst moment for Sokka was explaining to Aang what happened to Katara. How she healed him after the lightning strike delivered by Azula and how Zuko fought with his sister then, supposedly, switched sides and how the two of them disappeared on the opposite side of the catacombs. Sokka and Toph had been forced to take flight on Appa or risk being crushed by the underground crystal cave. Sokka did a poor job keeping the gnawing worry and anger from his voice during the story. The fact the whole world believed Aang to be dead served as the cherry on top of a wonderful conversation. As a result, Aang flew into a fit of emotions and fled from the ship. This earned Sokka a hard delivered fist in the arm from Toph and a day of complete panic when they struggled to locate Aang again.

Finally, in order to keep Aang calm and concentrated on the upcoming invasion, he and Toph agreed to separate from the Southern Water Tribe warriors and travel the Fire Nation aboard Appa. Also, while stressing that finding his sister could not be the priority, he agreed with Aang they would also attempt to locate her during their travels. And so, team avatar continued in their day to day helping people, all while impatiently waiting for the Day of Black Sun to approach.

"Why the long face, Sweetheart?" Toph watched Sokka, looking particularly pleased with a signature grin across her face. Well, she had a right to be happy with herself. Only the night before she and Aang teamed up to save a nearby village from certain destruction by a forest fire. With combined earthbending prowess, they buried the fire in a trench of cold dirt, while Sokka babysat Appa and Momo.

Sokka just frowned at the bed mat he sat on and folded his arms over a bent knee. "Nothing, it's just, with the invasion coming up, I've been thinking, all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff, like, putting out forest fires or flying around!" He gestured to where Aang sat some distance away meditating while balancing atop an air scooter. "I can't do anything like that!"

Toph glared at him, with a groan she replied, "Oh not you _too_ , all I've been hearing all week from Twinkletoes is how he lost weeks of training when he passed out, how he's not as strong as he needs to be, he couldn't save Katara yada yada. Don't you lose it too! I need your _help_ , we need to keep Aang _focused_ and confident. Usually it's Sweetness who's in charge of the pep talks."

Sokka just continued to glare at his own fingernails. Toph groaned again, "Ok, ok, well, maybe, a new toy will make you feel better?"

"A toy?" Asked Sokka bitterly, feeling a bit hurt at Toph's mocking.

She rolled her white glazed eyes, "Yeah, like a new boomerang or, or a sword. Boys love long, pointy things, right?"

Sokka's ears perked up at her suggestion. "You're a genius, Toph!" He exclaimed, rushing to his feet. "Let's go into town, we're going shopping!"

…

Sokka despised everything Fire Nation. The elaborate architecture with their shiny, red paneled ornate buildings, their gaudy red outfits and, especially, their horrendously spicy food served with personal sides of red hot chili flakes. _Yuck._

All the men strutted around like they were some sort of courageous war heroes, though most of them never served in the army, and the women wore showy tube tops which Sokka would usually enjoy, if the scandalous tops were not always paired with a disdainful facial expression at the sight of him. No, of all Sokka had seen in the world, the Fire Nation fell dead last in his personal preferences.

Of course, Aang professed supposed knowledge of Fire Nation customs from visiting a friend in the Fire Nation hundreds of years ago. Sokka followed his lead, though he suspected some of the information may be outdated.

The group found a weapons merchant who owned a storefront Sokka took a liking to. The store hosted all sorts of rare weapons, including, mini bombs, double wedge hammers and spiked batons. However, since his conversation with Toph, Sokka could not get the image of a sword out of his mind.

The store clerk eyed him knowingly a few minutes into his scavenging. "Looking for anything specific, Young Man?"

"Greetings, Sir Hotman," Sokka bowed slightly, using the formal address Aang taught him. "I'm looking for a sword, a nice one."

"Well, the one up there in that glass case is the best in the house!" The clerk gestured towards a long, sheathed blade hanging some feet above Sokka's head. "That's a Piandao original, the greatest swordsmaster and swordmaker in Fire Nation history. He lives in the big castle up the road from here."

"Hmm," Sokka scratched his chin, "So how much for it?"

"One thousand silver pieces," The clerk replied with a wide smile.

"Ughh, never mind" Sokka glanced behind him to where Toph and Aang observed his encounter, a look of disappointment crossing his face.

"Wait!" Aang exclaimed, jogging forward, wincing from the effort. "You don't need a sword, Sokka, you need a master. We've all had masters to help us get better, I've had three, one for each element, " Despite his obvious discomfort, he still smiled with confidence. "Let's see if you could study with Piandao."

"But, what about the invasion? What about getting you ready, Aang?" Sokka whispered urgently.

Aang only shrugged, "I'll practice earthbending with Toph while you're away, and some time with a home base will let us do some scouting to look around for Katara while you train."

Scratching his chin again, Sokka attempted to resist the temptation of the situation, but the look of encouragement on Aang's face pushed him over the edge. Despite the fierce glare he received from Toph, he nodded in confirmation, "Ok, let's do it."

…

Zuko 

Unrequited affections, another woe to add to the list of miseries that defined his life. Of course, Zuko should have known the content and enjoyment he felt in the company of the waterbender would not last. He only proved himself an even greater fool than he'd believed in the past. Developing feelings for Katara! So stupid, perhaps, the worst mistake in his short life. Ever since the kiss in the tavern, the girl refused to speak in more than two word sentences to him.

Zuko presumed she despised him for the mistake between them. Of course she didn't want to kiss him, of course, she viewed it as a mistake. His own father reassured him many times before his own _birth_ was a mistake. Katara was too beautiful, too kind and too strong to ever fall for the likes of him, a banished prince with a burned and deformed face. But, then, _why_ initiate that kiss? The memory brutally tortured Zuko. Would things between them be different if he hadn't reacted with such surprise in the moment? He pulled away from her out of shock, to check and reassure himself it really was Katara with her lips pressed to his. By the Fire Nation spirits, the thrill he experienced when he imagined she really _wanted_ to kiss him. But, of course, she didn't. Maybe, she wanted to mess with him, wanted to see him squirm, or, maybe, she presumed he would find the whole things just as ridiculous as she did, a good joke, and they would both laugh.

Well, now he suffered the consequences of his unruly emotions. Trapped on a small boat in close quarters they spent nearly every minute within touching distance and Zuko's body flew into a fit of longing whenever he allowed his eyes to linger on the waterbender too long. At night, he tossed and turned with dreams of her lips pressed to his and her body flush against his own. Sometimes, things went farther in his dreams. He took her clothes off, felt the intimate parts of her body with his hands and, if dream Katara allowed, his mouth. Often, he woke up with a painful hard on which he struggled to hide from his companion, horrified she would figure out she was the source of his arousal. These dreams made him feel particularly awkward and guilty and he often spent hours avoiding Katara's eyes as a result.

As painful as it was to feel how he did for Katara, he wished she would go back to being his friend. He understood she shared no feelings for him and regretted her actions in the tavern. He acknowledged she would never like someone like him, but they got along and he missed her conversation.

The small boat they stole in the colonies ran with a miniature coal engine, helped along by Katara's manipulation of the currents. The ship consisted of a small upper deck and three stair lookout tower. Below deck, one room combined as a part kitchen and washroom. A second, closet sized space hosted a tiny bed where Katara slept. Zuko, hoping to gain some favor back, offered to sleep on the kitchen floor.

To both their relief, their target island approached rapidly on the horizon and they stood on deck side by side watching the waves pass quickly underneath the black iron of the boat. The sun shone across Zuko's face and he breathed in the strength it leant him. His palms glistened with sweat as his home loomed in his view. Today would be the first time he stepped on Fire Nation soil in over three years. His heart pounded with nerves and he folded his hands into fists, memories of his childhood threatening to break out of their carefully maintained compartments.

Katara spoke first, "So, how far from here to the Fire Nation Royal Palace?"

"Less than a week by boat," Zuko responded, hoping his voice didn't betray his trepidation. "We can collect supplies in the village, be back on the water by tomorrow."

Katara nodded, her eyes narrowed at the shoreline. "The closer we get to the Fire Nation capital, the harder it gets to hide."

Zuko nodded without turning his head towards her, "Correct, and, unfortunately, many of the citizens of the Fire Nation are familiar with my face."

To his shock, her hand slid across the railing of the ship and, gently, grazed his own, as if in comfort. A moment later, her touch was gone.

They docked without commotion and entered the village together. The houses were built into the cliffs of a dormant volcano, displaying an impressive number of sharp, red rooves and white washed walls that emerged directly from beds of lava rock. Katara oohed and aahed at the elegant and exotic arrangements of flower and fruit produce decorating street vendor carts. Zuko explained to her how volcanic ash provided excellent fertilizer, hence, the surplus of plant life on Fire Nation islands.

"Fire lilies," He gestured towards a particularly beautiful flower colored with vibrant red petals and dark green stems. "They only grow on a handful of islands for a few weeks a year, they need a specific environment, almost impossible to duplicate. I know because my mother was always trying to get them to grown in the Royal Palace gardens."

Katara stopped at this particular bouquet and leaned in to inspect the flower, smiling slightly.

"That's two silver pieces a sniff," the merchant interjected, stiffly.

Zuko's temper flared at Katara's alarmed expression. Moving swiftly, he gripped the merchant by the collar of his shirt and pushed him roughly into the side of the cart causing the flowers on display to sway. "How about I burn _your_ _nose_ off your face," He hissed.

"Hey!" Katara placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from the merchant. "Knock it off," She hissed, "We don't need to attract attention."

Zuko peered around them into the busy street and noted the dozens of eyes turned in his direction, observing the feud between himself the vendor. With a low snarl, he released the rude man.

The man stumbled away from him, moving to position the cart between himself and Zuko, shaking slightly. "I hope _you're_ next to disappear," The man grumbled at Zuko once at a safe distance.

Katara rolled her eyes towards Zuko, "Let's continue?"

Zuko internally groaned, worried his outburst caused Katara to revert back to two word sentences. Glancing once more at the man, Zuko wondered what he meant by "disappear" but decided to take it as a pathetic attempt to make a threat.

Zuko and Katara paced the entire market twice, making double sure they gathered sufficient supplies to continue in their journey to the Fire Nation capital. By the time they were satisfied, the sun was beginning to set on the ocean sending pink and orange streaks across the sky.

"I'm not sleeping on that ship if we're staying here the night," Zuko warned Katara. The rocking of the ship made him sick to his stomach and the place held too many uncomfortable memories to allow proper rest.

Katara looked like she wished to argue, but nodded instead. "We can't afford beds," she pointed out.

"I'll take a mat in the woods," Zuko answered honestly.

The two of them began their walk out of town the only sounds between them a few sporadic yawns.

By the time they found an ideal spot, the sun set completely, leaving darkness only broken by Zuko's flames. Setting up camp, Zuko felt the hairs on his back standing on end. His heart raced in his chest and he jumped at the crackling of the branches Katara tossed into the fire.

Katara smirked towards him, "Afraid of the woods all of a sudden?"

Zuko hoped her attempt at conversation meant she was no longer angry with him over the kiss. "Not afraid," He squared his shoulders in defense, "I just keep getting the feeling we're being watched," He looked over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Speaking of, what do you think that merchant meant about you disappearing?" Katara asked, voicing one of Zuko's own concerns. She stood crossing her arms, looking down at where he sat by the fire. Zuko longed for one of their warm conversations from travelling the colonies when they would both lay on their backs on opposite sides of the fire and laugh and share stories.

He only shrugged, "The man was a jerk, I'm sure he meant nothing." Even to himself, he sounded unconvincing.

Katara studied him for a moment and Zuko shifted under her gaze, longing to stare back at those blue eyes.

"Well, I have an excellent story, I bet will scare even you." She smiled a bit and sat across the fire from him.

Zuko raised his eyebrow and leaned in to look at her. Giving her his full attention, he watched the way her blue eyes sparkled with excitement and how her full, pink lips moved when she spoke. So deeply engrossed in her, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice interrupted from behind him.

"Hello, Children."

Leaping to his feet, Zuko faced the newcomer crouched in an offensive position and heart racing in his throat. To his surprise, an ancient woman stood in front of him with long gray hair and unusual grey eyes. She wore a thick red robe and eyed them with curiosity.

Looking between him and Katara she smiled, "Sorry to frighten you, you shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night."

"We're fine," Zuko snapped, side stepping to place himself between the old woman and Katara.

"My apologies, I can see now you aren't as young as I took you to be, I don't mean to interrupt anything, I remember what it was to be in the heat of youth, once upon a time." Her smile widened at the sounds of protest from Zuko and Katara at her statement.

She held up a hand to stifle them. "Either way, you two shouldn't be out in the woods. Don't you know people have been disappearing? Every month around this time."

Zuko's mouth fell open at her words and Katara recovered faster answering the old woman, "We did hear, but, honestly, we didn't take it seriously."

"You should, these woods are dangerous…for some people." the old woman frowned briefly then smiled again. "My name is Hama, I'm the innkeeper in town. Why don't you come back for some spiced tea and a warm bed, on the house of course?"

Zuko eyed the woman skeptically, "Free of charge?" He asked, suspiciously.

Katara also eyed the woman with hesitation, "One bed?" She asked.

Hama laughed at their apprehension. "Two beds and, yes, free, on my honor."

Katara's face softened and she stepped around from behind Zuko to approach the older woman. "We'd love that," She bowed with respect.

"Follow me," Hama turned with a smile to lead them back towards the village. Katara didn't hesitate to follow, but Zuko grabbed her arm.

"Katara, we shouldn't trust strangers, we have too much at risk." He hissed urgently.

Katara rolled her eyes, "Just because you trust _no one,_ Zuko, doesn't mean I need to get all paranoid as well. Now, I'm going to sleep in a real bed for the first time in weeks and you can join if you like." Pulling her arm from his grasp, she disappeared after the mysterious woman.

Groaning, Zuko chased after them.

…

Tucked into the wood carved table in the inn's kitchen, Zuko glared down at a piping cup of spiced tea listening to Katara make conversation with the old woman, mostly, about the island's flower species and the weather. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table and nearly buried his forehead in his hand when Hama told Katara about the number of suitors who attempted to woe her during the summertime with bouquets of fire lilies in bloom. Giggling, the woman refilled their tea cups.

When he could stand it no longer, Zuko interrupted. "So what's that you were saying about people disappearing?" He shot Hama a withering stare.

Hama eyed him seriously, relaxing into her straight backed wooden chair, "When the moon turns full, people walk in the woods and they don't come out." She took a slow sip of her tea, still peering at him from over the rim of the cup.

Zuko felt a chill run down his spine with her words. He glanced with concern across the table towards Katara who eyed Hama with kindliness.

"That must be terrible," Katara murmured, sympathetically.

Hama bowed her head in acknowledgement of Katara's words then stood from the table. "Well, the hour is later than I realized, I must be getting to sleep. I'm sure the two of you must be exhausted from your travels."

Katara yawned in response and nodded, smiling at the woman.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, switching his gaze between them wondering why Katara took such a rapid liking to Hama. Certainly, the waterbender was kindhearted and she believed the best in people, but she wasn't a fool and Hama was still a stranger, a Fire Nation stranger. Feeling thoroughly perplexed, Zuko followed Hama's directions to his room in the inn and prepared for sleep. As usual, his thoughts circled endlessly around one woman with large blue eyes.

…

The next morning, Hama invited them to spend the day in the village with her. She inclined her head towards Katara and said softly, "In fact, spend the day with this old woman and I'll share a secret with you I think you'll enjoy." To Zuko's every growing surprise, Katara agreed. And, so, he spent the better part of the day trailing behind the two woman while they collected supplies for dinner and Hama shared the village gossip.

Their last merchant, a kindly older man with a goatee bid farewell to their group, "Stay safe, friends, the full moon is only a few days away now, we don't need any more lost souls around these parts." Hama hummed in agreement, "I'll make sure no ill will befalls our visitors," she promised.

Turning to Zuko and Katara she sighed apologetically, "I'm afraid I need to run a few more errands, how about you guys take these things back to the inn? I'll be back in a little while."

"Of course," Katara nodded her head.

Zuko waited until they reached the inn before, carefully, voicing his thoughts. "Hama seems a little…strange. Like she's up to something."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Again with the paranoia, Zuko! She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay."

"And we're _supposed_ to be on our way towards the Fire Nation capital," Zuko persisted. Internally, he sighed in exasperation at Katara's willingness to trust Hama. Based on his experience, people didn't just do nice things of their own good hearts. People _always_ always had something to gain, something they wanted in return…He just needed to figure out what Hama wanted.

"Honestly, Hama reminds me of my Gran Gran," Katara spoke softly. "And the invasion is still a couple weeks away."

Zuko pressed his lips together in frustration while his own heart clenched with sympathy at Katara's mention of her grandmother. "You want to stay here another night?" He guessed.

Katara nodded, turning to face him with pleading blue eyes. Like he could refuse her when she looked at him like that. "Ok." He agreed, defeated.

Katara's face broke into a genuine smile and she began unpacking their supplies from the market.

"But I'm taking a look around," He insisted, glaring around the room.

"You can't just snoop around someone's house!" Katara protested immediately. But Zuko opened the door to the second floor staircase and began climbing up. One by one, he opened doors to the guest rooms finding matching sets of beds with green sheets and dark oak wood dressers.

"You're acting like my brother! Ughh, why do you have to be like this?" Katara demanded following him down the hallway with her hands on her hips. "Not everyone in the world has some awful, heinous secret!"

Ignoring her words, Zuko stopped in the hallway in front of a long, slim closet door. He tried the handle and found it jammed closed. "Step back," He commanded Katara who hovered over his shoulders with a disapproving expression. Squaring his shoulders, he gave a strong, short tug and the doors burst open. A few dozen human faces stared back at him and he nearly jumped in place.

"What the hell!" The dozens of face were skillfully sewn miniature puppets, each dressed in a unique set of Fire Nation style clothing with strings hanging from their arms and legs.

Although she looked a bit frightened, Katara replied hotly, "So what, she has a hobby."

Zuko thought the puppets looked uncannily realistic, but agreed they weren't evidence of foul play. He moved on to the next set of doors, assuming he would find another guest room. He tried the door, but this one was more than just jammed, it was locked.

"Why would a sweet, innocent old lady need a locked door?" Zuko challenged, raising his eyebrows at the waterbender who still lingered close behind him.

"To keep terrible people like _you_ out of her stuff!" Katara snapped, but her eyes betrayed her own curiosity. Zuko's own face scrunched into its customary frown. "Earlier, didn't she _tell_ you she had a secret?"

Katara responded hesitantly, "Well, yes."

Zuko moved his hand to hover over the keyhole and focused heat through his palm. When the lock successfully melted away, he threw a shoulder against the door and it easily swung open for him. Inside the room, lay a single, chest painted delicately with sparkling shades of green and gold.

"We should _not_ open that," Katara insisted while her eyes roved over the chest hungrily.

"Probably not," Zuko agreed with a smirk and he knelt beside it, placing a hand over the top, ready to burn through the wooden exterior if necessary. His heart beat with anticipation, he _knew_ the old lady had a secret.

"I'll tell you what's in the box." Hama's voice stretched the length of the room and Zuko spun around on his knees to see the woman silhouetted in the doorway.

Katara sputtered at the sight of her, "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to offend!"

"It was my idea, Katara had nothing to do with it," Zuko interjected immediately, standing to hand the chest over to its rightful owner.

Hama rolled her eyes, "I have no doubt about _that."_ Then, she turned to Katara, "This is part of the secret I wished to share over dinner, but since your companion seems so eager, we will talk now." Taking a key from her kimono sleeve, Hama unlocked the green chest. Zuko held his breath as she reached inside and withdrew, inch by inch, a simple blue comb. He released his breath and a small trail of smoke blew from his nostrils.

"A comb?" He asked, exasperated. But Katara made a sound of excitement and her blue eyes widened, seemingly, with recognition.

"It's my greatest treasure," Hama explained, "It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."

"You grew up in the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara's face broke into a ridiculously large grin.

"Just like you," Hama winked towards the younger woman.

Katara looked awestruck, "How did you know?" She asked.

Hama chuckled, "Your name, for one, and they don't make eyes like _yours_ in the Fire Nation, that's for sure."

Zuko had to silently agree with her.

"I picked up all that food at the market today so I could fix you a big, Water Tribe dinner. Of course, couldn't get all the ingredients here, but ocean kumquats taste a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough!"

The look of joy in Katara's eyes convinced Zuko to bury his continued nagging feelings of suspicion. "I knew I felt a bond with you right away," Katara bowed her head towards the woman.

"Let's get cooking!" Hama smiled and took Katara by the arm to lead her back downstairs, leaving Zuko alone in the empty room feeling confused with his skin crawling uneasily. Why would a Southern Water Tribe old lady choose to live in the Fire Nation? Something about Hama still didn't add up. He hurried downstairs after Katara, determined to keep an eye on her lest she ultimately need protection from the old woman.

…

After a couple hours of cooking, Hama served them both heaping plates of ocean kumquats stewed in, what looked to Zuko, beds of seaweed. He attempted to keep his nose from wrinkling in distaste and his stomach turned over, begging him to stay clear.

"Try some!" Katara encouraged him, an easy smile across her face. That smile melted any of Zuko's resolve and he believed, if she told him to jump in a pot of boiling water while smiling at him like that, he would do it. Nibbling carefully on the edge of a ocean kumquat, he gave her a thumbs up from across the table. She beamed and dug into her own plate with gusto.

"Five flavor soup?" Hama offered. Katara nodded eagerly so Zuko also put his hand in the air.

Nothing could have prepared him for the shock he experienced when Hama waved a hand over the soup bowl and two perfectly round, steaming balls of liquid flew to each he and Katara's bowls. Dropping his spoon, Zuko gaped at the old woman.

Across from him, Katara rose to her feet, her eyes round and the size of watermelons. "You're not just from the Southern Water Tribe, you're a _waterbender!"_ She exclaimed, her voice shaking with emotion.

Hama nodded with confirmation and locked eyes, intensely, with Katara. "And it's time you learn the skills of a Southern water bender, your legacy. Allow me to pass along the little inheritance I possess in the form of lessons to share with the last of our bloodline." Her voice reverberated with new authority and her eyes burned with emotional intensity.

"It's…my honor," Katara responded, and Zuko noticed the tears gathering behind blue eyes.

…

Sokka 

He sat, laying back with ankles folded and an arm tucked under the back of his head. In one hand, he twirled the white lotus Pai Sho tile between his fingers.

 _The master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by_.

Why in the name of the spirits Master Piandao wished for him to keep an old Pai Sho tile escaped Sokka, but, if it was important to Master Piandao, Sokka would guard it as an important personal token. Tucking the white lotus back into his pocket, he patted the sword attached to his hip. Each day since leaving the Master's castle, he practiced with his unique, meteorite sword. Turned out, the forest fire which inspired him to master swordsmanship had been caused by an asteroid hitting the earth. Gratefully, he eyed his companion from across the clearing. Without Toph's earth bending he wouldn't have been able to move enough of the meteor to extract its metals and create his own sword.

"Wanna spar?" Asked Toph, lazily aware Sokka was looking her way.

Sokka shrugged, "We must have sparred twelve times today, I'm beat."  
"Anything from Twinkletoes, yet?" Toph continued, indicating to the spot where Aang crouched in a meditative position, blue arrows and eyes aglow. Seeing Aang in the Avatar state sent a chill through Sokka's body. He didn't like all the spirit, soul searching, life after death stuff, but Aang had been summoned by Avatar Roku, an invitation Sokka knew he could never decline. And so, he and Toph spent the past few hours sparring and eating purple berries, waiting for Aang to return and share whatever new wisdom he picked up while in the Avatar state.

"Do you think she's ok, Toph?" He asked, his voice small.

"Of course," Toph reassured him, not bothering to ask the identity of "she". "She's a big bad waterbender, plus, she has angry jerk watching her back."

Sokka frowned, "That doesn't make me feel any better. I wouldn't trust Zuko to pet-sit Momo, never mind protect my sister." Just the thought of the firebender's scarred face sent a flare of rage and mistrust through Sokka.

Toph merely shrugged from across the campsite, "I just hope we find them before the invasion. Aang still knows _zero_ firebending and Katara's a huge asset for our side."

"You want her back because she's an _asset_?" Sokka snapped, anger flaring in his chest.

Toph rolled her unseeing eyes, "Katara's one of my best friends, maybe even the sister _I never had_. I want Sugar Queen back because I care about her, but, yes, I am concerned about going into the invasion without her waterbending. I trust her to have my back that day and I don't trust many people with that job."

Sokka sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, missing his sister more than ever. "Katara can be so bossy and involved and in your business." He sighed loudly, "But, in a way, I rely on it. When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life, our family was a mess, but Katara had so much strength, she stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom."

"I guess that makes sense, why she's always trying to take care of us," Toph responded, thoughtfully.

"I've never told anyone this before," Sokka continued, softly, "But I'm not sure I can remember what my mother was like, it really feels like my whole life Katara's been the one looking out for me."

Toph was quiet for a moment. "Maybe, we put too much pressure on her, you know, to take care of us all. We're all trying to save the world, but Katara also had to cook for us and clean up after us and keep Aang from taking an emotional head dive."

"Maybe we did," Sokka agreed slowly, then, he frowned, gripping his sword tightly. "If anything happened to her, if Zuko hurts her, I swear to the spirits I will kill him." The words out of his own mouth shocked him, mostly, because he meant them.

* * *

Personally, the Puppetmaster was one of my favorite episodes of all time very dark for ATLA which I loved. I hope I'm doing it justice so far! Thank you for all reviewers and readers, your support reminds me to keep going when I get a writers block :) Yes, Zuko and Katara will have a hard time accepting their feelings for each other I think opposite elements would have a difficult time entering into a romantic relationship


	14. Bloodline

Chapter 14: Bloodline

Katara 

Watching Hama waterbend reminded Katara of a moment in her childhood, when she stumbled across a family of tiger sharks, hunting and, subsequently, defeating the much larger great whale. The way their, strong muscled bodies breezed through the water and how they manipulated the tides around them ensuring their place at the top of the food chain created a lasting impression with her. Despite her elderly body, when Hama was waterbending, she moved like a tiger shark, efficient and deadly in her strikes.

Hama had taken her out to a large fire lily field deep in the nearby woods to begin their training together. Katara watched her demonstration with admiration and awe, but she couldn't help a question from escaping her lips, "So, how did a Southern Water Tribe waterbender end up out here in the Fire Nation?"

A dark shadow crossed Hama's face, "I was stolen from my home. It was over sixty years ago when the raids started. The Fire Nation began rounding up waterbenders and taking them captive. We did our best to hold them off, but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued. Finally, I too was captured and lead away in chains. The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. They held us for years, in dark cages. At first, there were scheduled interrogations for information on the Avatar, followed by regular beatings. We were starved, deprived of dignity and forced to watch each other disintegrate before our very eyes. I was the only one who managed to escape."

Katara gasped in shock and then hissed with rage and horror. "Hama, that's, that's unimaginable, but, how did you escape?"

Hama looked away from her, a dark shadow looming over her eyes. "It's too painful to talk about. Besides, you aren't ready for the rest of the story yet, it's less of a conversation and more of a demonstration. When it's time, I'll show you."

Katara bowed her head with respect, "Of course, I completely understand. I lost my mother in a raid." The image of her mother's flaming body and shrieking screams passed through her mind. She physically winced and, for whatever reason, she wished Zuko was around.

"You are a young woman of great strength, Katara. I'm sorry for your loss. Let's begin our lesson," Hama smiled warmly at Katara and she felt a blossom of companionship take life in her chest. She never imagined the opportunity to train with another Southern Water Tribe waterbender. She would not fail Hama, she could master whatever techniques the older woman had up her sleeve, it was her heritage after all.

"Growing up in the South Pole, waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by snow and ice and seas. But as you probably noticed in your travels, that isn't always the case wherever you go."

Katara nodded, remembering the fearful moment with the soldiers in the colonies, feeling completely helpless without a nearby source of water, then, the triumph when she pulled the water from the damp mud below her.

"That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists," Hama continued, "Did you know, for example, you can pull water out of thin air?"

Katara gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief at the woman before her. Hama smirked and, weaving a hand through the air between them, Katara watched as clumps of water appeared, seemingly from nowhere, to pool in Hama's hand. Hama thinned the water into five ice daggers and sent them, in one swift motion, to embed in a nearby tree.

"That will be our lesson for today," Hama smiled, meeting her awestruck gaze.

…

Katara strutted through the village with broad, confident strides. Excitement coursed through her veins and a stubborn smile tugged at her lips. She had _done it_ , she pulled water out of _air._ She imagined how Aang would react ( _wow, Katara, neat-o)_ or Toph ( _ok, ok no need to brag Sugar Queen)_ at her waterbending progress. But, mostly, her eyes scanned the busy market for a familiar scarred, but handsome face.

Finally, she caught sight of him and the air knocked from her lungs. How was it possible he could have this physical effect on her by just standing within eyesight, just by doing _nothing_? He leaned against an ash banana stand, eyes scanning the crowd. His dark hair hung over his forehead and it looked like he purposely brushed most of it towards the left side of his face to help hide his scar.

She felt a stab of guilt in her stomach for the way she treated him during their journey to the island. She spent the majority of time either ignoring him or sending short, scathing remarks his way. She wasn't even positive why she was so mad at him. So what if he didn't want to kiss her? Gritting her teeth, Katara sighed, she wasn't mad at Zuko she was mad at herself for her mind continuing to focus on him and her body continuing to react to him despite the obvious fact he shared none of the attraction she felt. Sighing again, she vowed to improve relations between them. After all, they were days from finding the rest of the gang and she was gaining miles in her bending prestige by the hours, there was no need for the animosity between them.

"Zuko," She greeted him warmly with a short wave as she approached.

"Katara," He nodded appearing slightly taken aback by her outgoing greeting. "How was, ugh, training with Hama?" He peered at her with apprehension, as if expecting her to use her new skills to water whip him across the face.

"It was incredible," She gushed, stepping closer to him. She could feel the heat from his body and her own body responded in like. Embarrassed, she stepped away again before Zuko could see the blush spreading to her face.

"You know how I wanted to spar because I was jealous you could create fire at will?"

"I didn't know it was because you were jealous," Zuko responded his eyebrow rising.

Katara blushed more and, as friendly as she could manage, punched him lightly in the arm. "Well, watch what I learned to do." Waving her own hand in the space between them, her heart rate increasing, she pulled droplets of water into a small, bubbling ball to hover between them.

Zuko's eyes went wide with shock and even the scarred portion of his face seemed to pale. "That's impossible," He murmured, looking nervously around the market, clearly checking for any wandering eyes. "Firebenders are the only ones who produce their own element."

"I didn't create any water," Katara explained, "Not the way you create fire. I took the water from the air around us."

Zuko's lips parted with surprise while his eyes ran over her face. "That's incredible…you're incredible."

Katara blushed with his praise and complained, "Well, I could never have done it without Hama, I'm not anywhere near incredible."

Zuko shook his head slowly and cracked a smile, "You have no idea how impressive you- your bending is. You practically brought the Avatar back to life with your healing in Ba Sing Se. Plus, you've only been bending for a few months, I've practiced firebending my entire life and you can beat me in a spar. You're gifted in your element, Katara, the same way my sister is in fire."

Katara attempted to interrupt him with a protest, but he held up a hand, "AND, speaking of Azula, you went head to head with her. Even you can't argue that's not impressive."

Katara's heart fluttered with excitement at his words, but she strove to remain humble. "You give me too much credit." She looked away from his intense gold eyes before her thoughts strayed into forbidden territory. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"What happened to your braid?" Zuko questioned and Katara followed his gaze to her own fingers trailing through dark, wavy brown hair. She noticed pink color his cheeks following his question. Her own heart leapt at the fact he _noticed_ her hair.

"Hama warned me the braid and hair loops were too obviously Water Tribe," She explained regretfully. For a moment, she fret the firebender didn't like her new hair, but then she admonished herself. Zuko didn't view her romantically in the first place so it wouldn't matter how she wore her hair.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Zuko apologized running his hand nervously through his own dark hair, probably mistaking her embarrassment for anger.

"No, um, it's ok." She attempted to reassure him and nearly reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. Inches from his skin, her fingers burned for contact with him. Biting her lower lip, she withdrew her hand and stared pointedly away from him. Still determined to make things right between them she forged on, "So, how was your day?"

Zuko drew a breath in, looking around, again, at the crowds of market goers. "I've been trying to get information on the disappearances, but it's like pulling teeth. Everyone's afraid to talk about it and no one's seen anything, except, apparently, some crazy old guy, everyone calls him Old Man Ding."

Katara frowned and tilted her head. "Have you spoken to this Old Man Ding yet?"

"Nope, he wasn't at home today, but I'm going to try again tomorrow."

Katara felt a smidge of guilt for not assisting Zuko in trying to solve the case of the missing villagers. If Aang could see her he would be extremely disappointed in her lack of effort. In all honesty, disappearing humans sounded a lot like spirit world shenanigans, but, without Aang, how could she and Zuko communicate with the spirits?

"We saw something like this before during our travels, a spirit was haunting a village and taking prisoners back to the spirit world. It was because the Fire Nation army nearby destroyed the natural habitat all around the village. Aang was able to enter the spirit world and figure it all out, but we won't be able to communicate with a spirit. I'm not sure we'll be able to help these villagers at all." She cast Zuko an uneasy glance.

Zuko's face creased while he considered her response. "But this is one of the most well maintained islands in the Fire Nation. Most of the land here is protected by law."

"I haven't seen any destruction," Katara agreed with him and they both stood deep in thought. "Maybe, I should take a break from training with Hama tomorrow and come with you to speak with this Old Man Ding."

She watched Zuko's face brighten at her words, but then he shook his head and his expression changed to one of regretful decision. "You shouldn't miss training with Hama, who knows how long we'll have here, you have the right to learn as much of the Southern Water Tribe style as you can while we're here."

Katara smiled up at him gratefully. Looking around at the Fire Nation village, she noted how shades of red and orange from the setting sun reflected across the white stone walls and glimmered off red rooves. She watched Fire Nation families mill about and children chase each other in the street. Was this the enemy? Then, why did they seem so _normal?_ She looked to where Zuko also observed their surroundings with a particular expression on his face.

Her heart clenched remembering this was not a foreign, enemy territory for him, this was part of his _home_. "You really care about these people, don't you?" She whispered, not positive she even spoke the words out loud until he looked down at her. She remembered Zuko posing as the masked Blue Spirit in Ba Sing Se and how he helped the refuges there. If he risked his identity and safety for misplaced Earth Kingdom civilians than it was no wonder he cared fiercely for his own Fire Nation citizens.

She watched him swallow and nod briefly before speaking. "My father should be _helping_ a village like this and sending soldiers to protect these people, _our people,_ instead of spending all his time worrying about crushing the last remnants of the Earth Kingdom." He finished his statement with a palpable bitterness.

Katara wanted to tell him how she admired him for his concern for his citizens and how it thrilled her to hear him disagree out loud with his evil father. She wanted to tell him she knew he would be a great leader if they won this war, but, instead, she cowered out of the words and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Once I finish my training with Hama, I will help you help these people, I promise."

…

Katara curled beneath the covers on her plush mattress. Sweat glazed her underarms and lower back. She awoke with a start, her mind struggling to free itself from the stubborn grasp of sleep. For a brief moment, she felt as though her limbs didn't belong to her and struggled to move her arms to raise her body from its position on the mattress. In fact, she felt slightly ill with her stomach cramping uncomfortably and her shirt damp from perspiration.

Finally rising from bed, Katara pushed the disconcerting thoughts to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on the day ahead of her knowing Hama planned a series of challenging lessons.

She washed and dressed in a hurry, worried she was already late for the morning warm up. She found Hama in the kitchen sipping a cup of spiced tea.

"Good morning, young one, sleep well?"

"Of course," Katara lied, averting her eyes while forcing a smile. Subconsciously, her eyes scanned the room for Zuko and her emotions sank slightly in disappointment when she failed to locate him.

"He left a while ago," Hama observed her carefully, "At least one of you understands the value of the early morning hours." She winked towards Katara at the end of her statement to reassure her she was only teasing, but Katara still regretted not being able to wish the Fire Prince good morning.

Hama's eyes narrowed slightly at Katara's continued silence, "Actually, I would like to utilize his absence. I can't help my own curiosities as to the nature of the relationship between yourself and this Fire Nation boy? Of course, any information you feel privy to share will be kept highly confidential."

"Um, what relationship?" Asked Katara, a bit uncomfortable, but Hama's soft grey eyes and motherly mannerisms reminded her so much of Gran Gran she felt inclined to answer the old woman's questions honestly.

"It's completely plain to see the boy is smitten by you." Hama continued, watching Katara's reaction carefully.

Katara's mouth parted in surprise at her words. "Oh!" She laughed nervously, "Zuko's not interested in me…at all."

Hama's eyebrow rose skeptically up her forehead. "You must be deaf or blind to believe such a lie." She smiled warmly, "You are a magnificent young woman, Katara, never doubt how you surely influence the young men around you. Beauty and charm can be great weapons, as well. Like the way a rattle snake may entice its prey with the sound of its tail, you too can use your physical qualities to attract and disarm a threat."

Katara felt a blush spread up her neck and into her face at the idea of using her femininity to giver herself the upperhand. But another part of her wondered, could Zuko even be "charmed" as Hama suggested?

"I need to ask you, Katara, do you, also, harbor affections for this boy?"

Katara's blushing intensified and she answered abruptly, "I thought I did, a little while ago." She knew she was lying. The mere thought of Zuko's lips on hers, or his voice saying her name or his body warm from his bending, caused her heart to jump into her throat, but, she hesitated to share her emotions with Hama, especially, considering she didn't entirely understand them herself.

Hama nodded with approval. "I feel it important to advise you against developing any strong attractions to a Fire Nation boy. For he is made of fire and you of water, too close a relationship would be detrimental to your own waterbending identity. Opposite elements, such as fire and water could never coexist peacefully."

Hama's words reminded Katara of her own opposite elements mantra she attempted to use when she felt the first twinges of attraction towards Zuko. However, Katara frowned at her teacher, confused, "But you've been living peacefully for years in the Fire Nation?"

Hama's eyes flashed briefly with a strange emotion and then she cleared her throat, "I still have so much to teach you, my young pupil. Tonight, I'll teach you the ultimate technique of waterbending. It can only be done during the full moon, when your bending is at its peak."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Katara's forehead creased with concern, "I thought people have been disappearing around here during the full moon?"

"Oh, Katara," Hama chuckled, "Two master waterbenders beneath a full moon, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

…

Zuko

Zuko wasted his morning and afternoon combing the village for the allusive Old Man Ding. By dinner time, his stomach growled at him in protest and a deep frown had settled across his features. How hard could it be to locate _one_ crazy old man? Aware of the fast approaching full moon, Zuko resolved to ignore his hunger pains. He set course for one last effort to circle through Old Man Ding's neighborhood.

As he walked, his thoughts, not surprisingly, drifted to Katara. He hoped she was ok. He left early that morning to continue his investigation and hadn't seen her all day. He knew she could take care of herself, but, honestly, the thought of her alone with Hama out in the woods gave him goosebumps. Despite the woman's supposed hospitality, she still made his skin crawl and the images of her many, detailed puppets hidden in the back of the cupboard on the second floor popped into his mind. Of course, he wanted to share his continued feelings of unease with Katara, but the girl was just beginning to act normal around him again and she seemed so genuinely _happy_ to have another Southern Water Tribe bender to train with, he couldn't bring himself to ruin it.

As he rounded on a corner street, he heard the sounds of a huffing older man, who stood bent over struggling to move a large pile of wooden planks up closer to his home. The man was short and bald with large, liver spots covering his scalp. He matched the description of Old Man Ding to a tee and Zuko rushed over to offer his help.

"Hello, Sir, you need help with those?"

The old man straightened out and turned to glare at Zuko's approaching figure. "Now, I may not look it, but I'm strong as a man twenty years my youth, let me tell you!" The old man bent over again and, heaving a couple breaths, attempted to pull at the large wooden plank which remained, stubbornly, glued to the ground.

"Please, let me help you," Zuko bent over and easily lifted the wooden plank to place it over the top edge of the window to the man's home. He frowned while holding the plank in place, "Why are you boarding up your house?"

"Got a full moon rising," the man growled in response.

"So you are Old Man Ding!" Zuko declared, triumphantly.

"Why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old," Old Man Ding pouted while he handed Zuko a nail to hold in place. "Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster, yet, at least."

"I wanted to ask you about that," Zuko jumped at the opportunity, "Did you see anything that night when you were taken? A spirit or a person, maybe?"

Old Man Ding narrowed cataract glazed eyes at Zuko's inquiry. "Didn't see nothing at all. Just felt something come over me, like I was possessed. Forced me to start walking toward the mountain. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs. It just about had me into a cave up there. And I looked up at the moon, for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light, but, then, the sun started to rise and I got control of myself again! I hightailed it away from that mountain quick as I could!" He pointed a wrinkled finger towards the dormant volcano hovering over the village in the center of the island.

Zuko heart sank, how would he find any of the missing people? The cave Old Man Ding mentioned could be _anywhere_ on that mountain. "Thank you for your help, Sir." He bowed politely towards Old Man Ding who eyed him suspiciously.

"What's it to ya, anyway?"

"I want to help stop whatever is terrorizing this village." Zuko explained.

Old Man Ding snorted derisively, "And who are you to care what happens to us?"

 _The Prince of the Fire Nation, your prince._ Zuko thought, pressing his lips together.

"Humph, just a good samaritan then? Well, good luck, you'll need it if you're thinking of going anywhere near that mountain tonight, boy."

For a minute, Zuko debated searching for Katara, he could definitely use the back up to explore the mountain. He didn't know what kind of an adversary he may encounter. But as his eyes scanned the horizon, he caught sight of the last glimmers of pink and orange light from the setting sun. He felt a moment of panic, he had to _save_ these people, he could not allow whatever "moon monster" Old Man Ding spoke of to take another victim, not when he could protect them. Feeding the internal fire inside of him from the last rays of the sun, Zuko set out at a brisk pace towards the mountain.

…

Katara 

Katara happily munched on crispy chilli pepper noodles while she walked behind Hama. She reflected on the day's lessons with pride. She learned to extract water from all different types of foliage from fire lilies to tall pine timbers. Her heart saddened just slightly as the memory of the field of dead and blackened fire lilies came to mind. Unfortunately, extracting the water from a living creature had the nasty side effect of killing the plant altogether.

Hama's words wandered through her mind, _They're just flowers, Katara. When you're a waterbender in a strange land you do what you must to survive._

Although she may not have entirely agreed with Hama's principals, she appreciated the lesson and understood the necessity to sacrifice the nature around her in certain situations. They had worked hard all day until Katara perfected all the skills Hama shared with her. Hama refused to allow them to break until dinner time and, even then, only Katara ate. Hama explained she was too excited to share the last of her knowledge with Katara to stomach anything.

Her own excitement rising, Katara called out to Hama who walked a few steps ahead of her, "Are we almost there yet?"

"We must be sure to avoid detection, Katara, the full moon is nearly at the center of the sky, at that time, we will begin."

They walked deeper into the woods until the land sloped into an incline and they climbed up higher onto the mountain. Katara wondered at the power of such a waterbending skill they needed to go miles into the woods to assure secrecy.

After another hour of walking, Hama stopped in the middle of a small clearing and tilted her head back towards the sky. Katara copied her actions, eyes scanning the heavens and landing on the gentle, white glow of the full moon. Her blood sang in her veins and a sense of peace and comfort filled her mind. _Hello, Yue,_ she thought to herself, _thank you…_ she added thinking of the sixteen year old girl who sacrificed her own life to give life back to the moon spirit. Katara tried to imagine being asked to make such a decision. A shudder ran down her body and, in that moment, she appreciated the strength she pulled from the moon more than ever before.

"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" Hama's own emotionally charged voice cut through the air between them. "For generations it has blessed waterbenders with its glow, allowing us to do incredible things." She turned to face Katara head on. "I've never felt more alive than under this full moon, tonight, with you."

…

Zuko 

Fear crept at the fringes of Zuko's mind as he jogged up the mountain, what if he was too late? What if he failed these people? Just like how he failed to protect his mother then failed to impress his father and, finally, failed to save his uncle in Ba Sing Se. Gripping his knees, Zuko paused to catch his breath and growled in frustration. He clutched at the hair on his head, attempting to fight down the sick feeling in his stomach. His father's voice rang in his head _you were lucky to be born_. His father once told him, even as an infant, all he did was cry, so, in his father's mind, he had been weak even before he could form conscious thoughts.

Zuko knelt on the ground of the forest and sighed, the familiar feeling of defeat beginning to creep into his bones. He could not jog this entire mountain in one night, it was impossible. Just as a sureness in his failure began to take root, a weak cry met his ears.

Zuko's head shot up and he observed his surroundings, alarmed. Did he imagine the sound? But, then, he heard it again, it sounded like a cry for help and it sounded like it was coming from the ground right beneath his knees. Zuko bent over and pressed his good ear into the dirt of the forest. With his ear pressed to the ground, he heard the weakened, but unmistakable cries for help. The captured villagers were underground, but how did they get there?

Zuko thought of earthbending, but shook his head at the ridiculous thought, there were no earthbenders living in the Fire Nation. Dusting the leaves and dirt from his pants, Zuko rose to his feet, eyes scanning for any clues as to how humans ended up deep inside a dormant volcano. Lighting a bright flame in the center of his palm, Zuko jogged a perimeter around the spot where he could hear the voices. Finally, he stumbled across the mouth of a large cave. Vaguely, he remembered Old Man Ding mentioning a cave.

"Thank the spirits!" He burned the flames higher in the palm of his hand and set off. Knowing he could well be walking into a fight, he forced his legs to slow their pace and crept more carefully through the cave, ears perked picking up the sounds of moans and screams somewhere at the end of the tunnel.

He stopped outside a large, metal door with a large, distinct keyhole. Rolling his eyes, Zuko, pressed his hands against the metal of the door and heated the substance until it melted away under his touch. Throwing in a shoulder, he tossed the door to the side and entered the deepest portion of the cave.

The sight he encountered on the inside stopped him in his tracks. The stench of human feces and rotting flesh assaulted his nose and Zuko nearly choked on the air. The light in his palm cast shadows throughout a cavernous makeshift jail. A number of people, dressed in dirty and ragged Fire Nation attire lined the edges of the cave, arms chained above their heads. One woman, who appeared to be wearing a very tattered Fire Nation soldier's uniform croaked, "We're saved!" while the an attempt at a smile crossed her lips.

Zuko took a few more hesitant steps, spinning his light. His stomach clenched and he struggled to keep its contents in place when he observed the rows of emaciated human corpses which littered the floor. Upon closer inspection, he saw the captives seemed to be in varying stages of starvation. One elderly man hung limply by his chains, one taut arm supporting the sagging weight of his body and Zuko presumed him dead until the man's eyes slid open.

Zuko turned to the female soldier and asked with foreboding, "Who did this to you?"

"It was a witch!" The man Zuko believed dead muttered.

Zuko's eyes widened, "A witch, how?"

The female soldier, however, shook her head slowly, "She _seems_ like a normal old woman, but she controls people like some dark puppetmaster."

Zuko felt the color drain from his face remembering the last place he saw puppets. "Hama!" He gasped.

"Yes, the innkeeper!" A third weak voiced joined in affirmation.

Liquid hot horror spilled inside Zuko's body and his mind was consumed by the image of Katara's face, blue eyes widened in fear. "Katara," He groaned out loud, as his heart hammered in alarm. He _needed_ to get to her before Hama hurt her! Just as he turned his back to run to Katara, the female soldier's voice pleaded, "Please, don't leave us! Some of these people won't last the night!"

Clutching his fists, Zuko turned back towards the captives. The ones strong enough to speak whimpered and begged for their release. He could not leave them. Rubbing his hands together, Zuko approached the female soldier first and clutched the chains above her head. He allowed them to melt away as he had done with the door and her arms dropped to her sides. She cried out in pain and Zuko watched tears spring to her eyes.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"Help me with the others," Zuko commanded his mind still on Katara.

The female soldier talked about how Hama captured a new batch of prisoners each month with the new full moon. The old woman visited them every few days and fed a select few prisoners food and water, while the others looked on in suffering.

"She told us stories of being a captive of the Fire Nation many years ago," the female soldier explained, "she told us we were lucky that she treated us better than we treated her when she was in captivity." The female soldier's lips trembled as Zuko melted away the chains of the final captive. Well, the final captive with a palpable pulse.

"You called her a puppetmaster," Zuko questioned, "why?"

The female soldier's face darkened and her body trembled while she answered, "Because she can _control you_ , force your body to move whichever way she wants, like you're her puppet."

A shudder ran down Zuko's spine and his memories flashed again the eerily detailed faces in Hama's puppet collection at the inn. His resolve strengthened to get to Katara. "Go to the village and get help to move the rest of these people out of this cave," He instructed the woman.

"What about you?" Asked the female soldier, alarmed.

"I'm going after Hama," Zuko's eyes narrowed and flames whispered on his fingertips, he needed to get to Katara and fast.

…

Katara

"What I am about to show you is my greatest secret, I learned it while in that wretched Fire Nation prison." Hama turned again to stand with her back to Katara and her face tilted skyward. A cold venom entered the tone in her voice and Katara felt prickles of apprehension in her stomach. "The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and hung our cages suspended from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel retribution. And yet, each month I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. I realized where there is life there has to be water. The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid and I passed years developing the skills that would lead to my escape. Bloodbending, controlling the water in another body and enforcing your own will over theirs."

Katara's stomach clenched and the noodles she recently consumed threatened to run back up her throat. He heart hammered as a sense of foreboding rose in her chest and Hama continued to speak towards the moon.

"Once I mastered the rats, I was ready for the men. And during one full moon I walked free for the first time in decades, my cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect this technique you can control anything or anyone."

Sweat glistened across the palms of Katara's hands and she nervously wiped them on her skirt. Hama turned to face her and she averted her gaze, not able to meet the older woman's eyes. "But to reach inside someone and control them? I don't know if I want that kind of power."

"The choice is not yours, the power exists inside you already. It is your destiny to use the gifts you have been given to win this war." Hama's eyes sharpened as she advanced a couple feet towards Katara. "Katara, they tried to wipe us out, our entire culture! Your mother!"

At the reminder of her mother, Katara's mind flashed with the well preserved memories of the smell of scorched skin, the pile of ashes scattedered across an igloo floor the last remnants of her mother's body. She curled her hands into fists, remembering the face of the soldier who murdered her mom. "I know." Maybe, a man like the soldier who murdered her mother _deserved_ to lose willpower over his body.

"We're the last waterbenders of the Southern Tribe. We have to fight these people whenever we can, wherever they are with any means necessary! The people of the Fire Nation determined their own fate when they chose to back a cruel dictator, they all deserve to be punished!" Hama's voice took on a crazed, heated edge.

Katara shook her head slowly, thinking of the civilians in the village. They were not soldiers and they didn't seem evil to Katara. They were regular citizens born into a war and raised by the lies about it. Her sense of foreboding evolved into fully formed dread and a harsh realization dawned on her. "It's you!" She gasped, her eyes finally raising to meet Hama's. "You're the one making people disappear during the full moon! What did you do to them, Hama, did you kill them?"

"They threw me in prison to rot," Hama hissed, "Along with my brothers and sisters. I watched a group of soldiers force themselves on my own mother while she screamed for mercy. I listened to the last coughs of my younger brother, choking for air, before he died hanging in that spirits forsaken cage. The people of the Fire Nation deserve to suffer the same! You must carry on my work, Katara."

"Hama, the people in this village didn't hurt anybody! They're just regular people!"

"You fool!" Hama hissed, "They're all the same, they're all Fire Nation scum."

"I won't carry on your work and I won't allow you to continue to hurt innocent people." Katara squared her shoulders, her heart racing with fear while she locked eyes with Hama.

The old woman looked murderous and, for a moment, she watched Hama struggle to regain her composure. Then, the old woman shocked her by laughing, a strained maniacal sound "You should have learned the technique before you turned against me."

All of the feeling in Katara's body evaporated leaving her with the strange sensation of floating in place. Without warning, her left arm twisted in the air in front of her. She cried out in pain and tried to grab at her lost arm with the opposite hand, but that arm too twisted painfully.

"It's impossible to fight, I control every muscle, every vein in your body!" Katara's body twisted further into an impossible position. Her spine burned with protest at the movement and Hama forced her down to crouch on the forest floor. "I can do more than make you dance," Hama continued with a sinister smirk. "I can block your throat." Katara felt as an invisible hand gripped her neck to cut off her windpipe. She attempted to breathe, but could not get the air into her lungs. "I can break your bones." Katara's hand twisted even further from where it lay on the ground. Katara screamed in pain as the pressure on her neck dissipated to be replaced across her left wrist. She watched in horror as her own hand twisted and turned sending shooting bursts of pain down her arm until a loud crunch filled the air.

She stared down at her own broken, deformed wrist and tears began to leak out of her eyes. "Stop, please," She begged, hating her own weakness. Fighting her growing panic, she begged her mind to focus on something other than the throbbing pain in her wrist.

"KATARA!" A familiar voice echoed through the woods. A line of hot flames erupted from behind Hama aimed at the center of the old woman's back. Hama spun on her toes and brought up a shield of water.

"Katara!" Zuko ran into Katara's line of sight, his own eyes taking in her position crouched on the ground with alarm, while her heart leapt with relief at the sound of him. "She's been keeping the missing villagers captive, I found them in a cave in the mountain! It's awful, she starved them, tortured them…many of them, they're already dead." He pointed an accusatory finger at Hama who just smirked.

Katara's stomach clenched with fear. They were too late, Hama already murdered innocent civilians. A fresh rage reared in her chest. "Hama, you monster!" Her anger gave her the strength to resist Hama's control and force her knees to unbend and lift her to her feet.

Hama merely laughed at Zuko's allegation, tilting her head to the side to eye the Prince of the Fire Nation.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Zuko snapped, "Surrender and we won't have to hurt you."

"The infamous Fire Prince Zuko," Hama smirked, "A traitor to your own nation, I see, but that doesn't earn you any favor in my books. I knew who you were the moment I set eyes on your scar."

"You're outnumbered!" Zuko retorted.

Hama chuckled, "No, you outnumbered yourselves."

Katara felt a flash of true horror and the color drained from her face. "Zuko, get out of here!" She attempted to warn him, but the feeling of weightlessness lifted from her own body and she swayed on her feet. Across the clearing, Zuko's body went slack and his eyes widened in shock and terror.

"Katara," he choked out, "what's going on?"

Katara watched as Hama forced Zuko's hands behind his back to draw his dual swords.

"I was just showing Katara a particularly special little skill I developed when I was supposed to be rotting in your great grandfather's prison. It's called bloodbending."

Zuko shouted with alarm and Katara watched as he ran, unwillingly, at her with swords over his head. He swung at her and Katara dodged the blow, ducking around him.

"Don't hurt your friend, Katara." Hama mocked. "I should have known you were a fool the moment I realized who you chose to waste your affections on. The very grandson of the man who murdered your people? That is who you choose? Pathetic."

"Katara, I'm sorry!" Zuko attempted to apologize as his right arm shot out, aimed for the center of Katara's stomach.

"No, I'm sorry, Zuko! You were right, I shouldn't have trusted Hama so quickly, I am a fool." She felt sick with guilt watching Hama manipulate Zuko's body. It was her fault, she got him trapped in this terrible position. She dodged another of his attacks.

"This isn't your fault," Zuko insisted, and despite the fear displayed on his face, Katara saw forgiveness and kindness when he looked at her. Her heart clenched painfully and tears threatened to overflow from her eyes.

"Just freeze me!" He continued to yell towards Katara. "Knock me out or something!"

Katara shook her head tearfully, still diving around his attacks. "I can't, I can't hurt you. It's…It's what she wants!" She turned to face the antagonist herself who watched Katara's pained expression with great satisfaction. "Hama, stop! Let him go!" Katara screamed at the old woman.

"Hmm, you really do care for the firebender, interesting. Well, since you won't fight him properly, let's see how you stop him from hurting himself."

Katara watched Zuko's face twist with his efforts to control his own body. His own arms stretched out in front of him to turn his dual swords with the pointed ends now focused inward on his own body. "No!" Katara screamed with fear. But she couldn't think of how to stop Zuko in time. She watched helplessly as Zuko plunged his own swords deep into his stomach.

The tears now fell freely from her eyes as Zuko's body tilted forward and knelt on the ground his back doubled over around his injured stomach. Katara watched as dark, crimson blood spread throughout the front of his shirt forming a dark red circle around where the hinges of his swords protruded from his body. Zuko's eyes were closed tightly and his mouth twisted and trembled. Katara wondered how he managed not to cry out at the, doubtlessly, massive amount of pain. Her heart throbbing in her chest and cheeks wet with tears, she turned, again, to face Hama.

Hama tilted her head at Katara, reached a gnarled hand into the distance between them and, immediately, reclaimed control of her body. Her eyes sparkled with clever malice. "You need to heal your friend, Katara, before it's too late."

Katara's drew in ragged breaths, stifling a scream of despair. She could hear Zuko's moans from behind her. Closing her eyes, she remembered the glow of the moon across her back and how the blood in her veins continued to sing with energy, despite her throbbing wrist and pounding heart. She drew in a deep, breath of cool night air, focusing her own bending power inward towards her own body. She remembered Zuko's words to her, _you're gifted in your element._

She was gifted, she was strong, stronger than this. Drawing in a second ragged breath, the feeling in her arms and legs began to creep back as she gained inch by inch of control over her body. Gritting her teeth in order to ignore the pounding pain in her wrist, she raised her eyes with defiance to stare down her opponent.

"My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama," She spat in anger, facing the old woman, "Your technique is useless against me."

Thinking of the young man fighting death beside her, she released a scream of rage. Katara drew in the power from the moon overhead, she focused every ounce of energy through her right hand which she rose to place palm out towards Hama. She called out to the woman's blood and Hama's entire body went slack. Enforcing her will, Katara forced the woman to kneel in the clearing. With Hama subdued, she froze the woman's hands and feet into blocks of ice.

Then, she ran to Zuko. "Oh spirits, oh spirits, this is so bad. I am so _sorry_." She crouched down on the forest floor beside the firebender. She stared at his pale face and he opened golden eyes to meet hers. She reached out to place a hand across his cheek and felt the way his entire body was shaking. His lips were entirely colorless from being pressed together so tightly and she knew he was trying to hold it together for her sake.

"I need to heal you," She croaked out, still crying in earnest despite her attempts to reel her emotions in. She felt Zuko's blood seeping into her pants where her knees touched the ground and she looked around in alarm at the sheer amount of red liquid. Her hands shook violently as she reached for the hinge of Zuko's swords.

"I'll do it," He whispered brusquely, replacing her hand with his own. She watched while he gritted his teeth and, in one fluid movement, pulled the swords from his body. Finally, he couldn't hold back the cry of pain and Katara winced as the sound met her ears.

"Lay back," She told him, brushing her hand again along the side of his face in an attempt to provide comfort. Zuko's eyes followed her as he lay down. Pulling water from the nearest trees, Katara let the water cloak her good hand and she lay it over the gaping wound in Zuko's lower stomach. Closing her eyes, she focused on healing him, allowing the skin to stitch back together. All the while, her heart hammered with fear. Had he lost too much blood already? Could she heal him in time? Flashes of Jet's broken body passed through her mind and Katara fought the emotional anguish threatening to derail her healing attempt. She would _not_ fail again, not another friend and, _especially_ , not Zuko.

A few minutes passed in silence while she healed Zuko before she heard the stomping of feet through the forest. A number of soldiers appeared in the clearing first followed by a woman wearing a dirty, tattered uniform with deeply hollowed cheeks and a sickly glow to her skin. "That's the woman." She pointed towards Hama and a number of the soldiers rushed to place chains over Hama's hands and feet.

Katara watched Hama stand and their eyes met from across the clearing.

"You're going to jail for the rest of your life," One of the soldiers declared.

Hama only smiled towards where Katara knelt over Zuko, "My work here is done. Congratulations, Katara, you're a bloodbender."

Katara suppressed a shudder and forced her focus on the boy's body below her hands. Zuko's eyelids fluttered as he fought for consciousness and, every few seconds, he groaned in response to the movement of Katara's hands.

Muttering in confusion over the old woman's statement, a couple of the soldiers lead her away. The woman in the tattered clothing rushed over to Katara and Zuko. "This man, the one with the scar, he saved us!" She gestured towards where Zuko lay on the forest floor, eyes now closed fully.

The rest of the soldiers gathered around Katara and Zuko and she heard one of them gasp, "That's Prince Zuko! He's a traitor, wanted for capture." The same soldier moved aggressively towards them and Katara tore her hand from Zuko's stomach and leapt to her feet, crouching into an offensive position baring her teeth in the direction of the soldiers. _No one_ was going anywhere near Zuko. The urge to protect the young man laying behind her offered a new burst of energy and the full moon above her head whispered encouragement. But it was the woman in the tattered clothing who stepped to block the soldiers' path.

"Captain Ling, that man _saved my life_ and the lives of many other captives. Traitor or not, this village owes him a great debt."

To Katara's surprise, the other soldiers murmured in assent behind the woman. The soldier in charge eyed Katara and Zuko warily, then, his face softened. "Of course," He agreed, "No harm will come to the prince or this young woman." He turned back to the rest of the soldiers, "Men, assist them back to the village and give them anything they need to help Prince Zuko recover."

Katara breathed with relief and, immediately, fell to her knees beside Zuko again. Taking his hand in her own she whispered, "You're going to be alright, I promise, Zuko."

…

Zuko

Panic was the first to greet Zuko as he regained consciousness. Memories of Hama's malicious laughter and Katara's tearstained face rose to the forefront of his mind. He remembered the blood pooling around him and Katara's soft touch across his face. He battled his eyelids to open, concern gripping his heart at the thought of the waterbender.

His blurred vision revealed the well maintained thatch work of a typical Fire Nation home ceiling. He lay on his back, from the feeling of it, on a soft, feather mattress. Groaning out loud, he blinked rapidly until the lines of his vision sharpened. Timidly, he moved his hand to graze the top of his stomach, recalling the dual swords which pierced his skin during the duel against Hama. Surprisingly, his fingers grazed only smooth skin. When he pressed down slightly, he could feel a select spot of soreness. He heard a small squeak of sound from beside him and, recognizing the voice, he managed to tilt his head up and turn his neck to the side.

Katara sat in a wooden chair pushed so closely against the side of his bed both her legs indented the mattress. She appeared unchanged from when he last saw her during the battle with her hair still matted and traces of dirt and blood stained across her arms. Thin red lines ran through the whites of her eyes which were underlined by dark bags. Her plump lower lip trembled as she stared into his eyes.

"Zuko," She choked out, the relief evident in her voice.

"Katara," He murmured in response, relieved to see her, at the very least, safe by his side. With another groan, he used his arms best he could to pull himself up in the bed to better face the water tribe girl.

"Where are we?" He asked, confused and worried for their safety.

"Still in the village, the people here offered to host us, well, you, after you saved so many of them." Zuko couldn't help the glow of pride in his chest at her words. He felt relieved his efforts weren't all for nothing and, at least, some of the villagers would be returning to their families.

"You healed me." He guessed, looking down at his shirtless body and spotting no sign of the gaping injury inflicted by his swords.

Katara nodded in confirmation and, to his alarm, she began to cry in earnest.

"Katara!" He gasped, "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault she did this to you," Katara lamented, the guilt heavy in her voice.

"No, it's not your fault, don't ever say that again!" Zuko's voice came out rougher than he intended. He cursed his own insensitivity and inability to provide comfort to the girl beside him. "I owe you a great debt, Katara, you healed my injuries." He nodded seriously, meeting her shocked gaze.

"I thought you _died_ ," Katara sniffed, her crying quieting but the tears still flowing down her cheeks. "I've never been so scared."

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise at her words. He remembered how upset she was when they heard the rumors of the avatar's death. Well, here was the beautiful waterbender now in tears over _him._ His heart heaved with an emotion he could not identify and his throat felt tight. He reached out to hold her hands in his own, but felt her wince with his touch. Immediately, he withdrew, kicking himself mentally in the butt.

He watched Katara wrap a protective hand around her left wrist and it was then he noticed the swelling at the site.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked, concerned as he peered at her wrist.

Katara merely shrugged and pressed her lips together, "Nothing I can't handle."

Shaking his head, Zuko gently pried her hand from around the wrist. He noted the discoloration and swelling present and eyed Katara with disapproval. "This looks bad, Katara, maybe broken, you should have healed it hours ago."

"I needed to focus my energies on your injuries," She gestured towards the smooth expanse of skin over his mid-section.

Zuko shook his head sharply, horrified. Catching her chin with his fingertips, he forced Katara to meet his eyes. "Don't _ever_ leave yourself hurt and in pain on my behalf ever again, you heal _you_ first next time, hear me?"

Katara nodded meekly and Zuko felt a rush of affection. Using the back of his own hands, he gently wiped the tears from Katara's face, relishing in the feeling of her soft skin. Her eyelids dropped lazily while he stroked her.

"Now, get to work on that wrist," He murmured, as soft as he could force his voice to get. With exceeding care, he slipped the palm of his hand beneath her injured wrist to elevate the extremity. He heard her whimper, but, when he attempted to remove his hand, her other hand gripped tightly onto his forearm, her fingernails digging into his skin.

"Please, keep holding it," She whispered, her eyes focused on where his larger hand cradled the base of her own.

Zuko watched as she pulled water from a large basin at the foot of the bed and, covering her hand, moved the water to hover and consume her injury. Zuko held her wrist patiently, not minding that he got wet in the process. Katara's face scrunched in concentration while she healed and Zuko walked, in awe, as the size of her wrist shrank in minutes before his eyes.

Katara's eyes reopened and Zuko recognized the bleary notes of exhaustion etched into her expression. "How long was I out?" He questioned.

Katara shrugged and yawned, "About ten hours. The wound was deep and tricky to heal, the swords punctured multiple organs. More complex injuries take more time."

"Have you slept at all?" Zuko asked incredulously.

Katara shook her head guiltily, "I was too afraid to fall asleep, I rested my head for a few minutes a couple times though," She gestured at the oval shaped expanse of wrinkled sheets on his bed above where her knees pressed against the mattress.

Zuko rolled his eyes and let an exasperated sound escape from his mouth. "You need some real sleep, waterbender." He scooched over in the bed to make room and Katara watched him with confusion.

"I don't firebend in my sleep, don't worry."

He watched Katara's mouth form a surprised little "o" finally understanding his offer to sleep beside him. Feeling bold, Zuko reached across the space between them to run his fingers down the side of her cheek again.

"I can take the floor, if you prefer," he reassured her, already making to move.

Katara's hands shot out to grip his shoulders and prevent him from sliding out of the bed. "No, stay with me, please." She murmured softly, her eyes glowing with emotion.

The wearied waterbender climbed onto the bed beside him, her blue eyes never leaving his own. He marveled at how a woman could look so perfect still covered in dirt hours after a brutal battle. In a rush of affection, he scooped her into his arms and cradled her against his body. He heard her soft sound of surprise followed by one of contentment. Zuko's fingers trailed the open skin at the base of her spine and his entire body seemed to sigh with satisfaction when Katara's curves fit perfectly lined up against his body. Katara nuzzled further against him, pushing her entire face into the base of his neck and breathing a soft sigh of warm air against his skin. The feeling of Katara's lips moving against the sensitive skin of his throat raised goosebumps along Zuko's arms and heat rushed down between his legs.

Forcing his body to calm down, Zuko listened as Katara spoke "Wake me in a few hours."

Zuko chuckled, "Not a chance, Waterbender." He felt those damn soft lips curve into a smile and listened to the rhythmic sound of her breathing as she drifted towards sleep.

Staring at the ceiling, Zuko swapped between running his fingers over the skin of her back or through her thick, wavy hair. Confident she was finally asleep he whispered into the lonely air, "Spirits help me, I cannot fall for this girl."

* * *

At the same time I loved writing this chapter but also struggled to get it just right! Zuko and Katara will be with the gang again in the next chapter so big changes in the dynamic between the 2 of them! thank you to everybody reading this story, especially, to those of you leaving the always encouraging reviews they are very motivating :)


	15. Reunions

Chapter 15: Reunions

Toph

Long grass itched around her knees and the sun blared down on the back of her neck causing beads of sweat to pop up in its wake. She sensed the fields of grazing, fluffy coated koala sheep who bleated every so often with snouts turned into the air. As with every place in the Fire Nation she visited, she grudgingly admired the natural beauty of the island while, simultaneously, cursing the weather.

"Why is it so damn _hot_ here." She complained.

"Maybe that's why firebenders are always in a bad mood," Aang supplemented with a shrug.

"They're in a bad mood because they're _evil_ ," Sokka corrected.

"Sokka, that's not true…" Aang attempted to peace talk his older male companion, but Sokka only waved him down.

"I know, I know mister represents all four nations blah blah, I still don't like them."

Toph snickered and wondered at how different Sokka was from his sister. The thought triggered a small flash of sorrow and she swallowed nervously. What if Katara didn't find them in time?

"How'd you choose this place anyways, meathead?" She asked Sokka, attempting to disguise her uncertain feelings.

"My father and I found it on a map aboard the Fire Nation ship. It was well situated close to the capital, uninhabited and the harbor surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place. Welcome to the official rendezvous point for the invasion."

"Ugh, the invasion," Aang commented his voice hardly over a whisper, "Almost forgot that's why we were here." He attempted to joke with a nervous laugh.

"Better get training again, Twinkletoes, we've got a lot of earth to cover and only three days to do it."

"Three days!" Aang exclaimed leaping at least six feet into the air. "The invasion is in three days? That can't be right! We haven't even found Katara yet!"

"We may need to plan to go into this the three of us," Toph attempted a gentle tone, but ended up just sounding like she chewed on her own tongue.

"We can't do this without Katara! We _need_ to find her before the invasion," Aang continued with alarm. "Appa!" He shouted beckoning the sky bison with a wave of his hand.

"Aang, we need to be training," Toph attempted to argue, but to no avail. She glared towards Sokka, "Help me out!"

"Aang, I don't like this any more than you do," Sokka murmured, "But we can't put the entire invasion plan on hold for Katara. The eclipse is happening in three days whether we're ready for it or not."

"I'm not going up against the Fire Lord unless I know Katara is safe with us again." Aang continued to argue.

Toph threw her hands in the air in frustration. "We can't sacrifice the fate of the entire world because of your little crush, Twinkletoes!"

She knew Aang's face turned red, but he remained resolute. He jumped up onto Appa's back with a little airbending and beckoned to them. "I'm going to look for Katara, you two can come with me or you're free to stay here."

Toph could feel Sokka's own resolve disintegrate beside her. "It wouldn't hurt to fly around, just for a bit, and see if we have any luck."

Toph groaned again, "I'm no help on the back of a flying bison," She waved her hand in front of her own unseeing eyes, "But I'm not staying behind with the koala sheep either."

…

The hours blended together defined only by Aang's nervous series of ramblings and the hot Fire Nation wind blowing in Toph's face. Sokka attempted to calm the young airbender a number of times, trying to convince him to head back to the island so they could rest and train. However, Aang refused to budge and, when the sun finally set beneath the horizon, his worry began to edge on hysterical. Toph listened as the saddle beneath her shuddered with a large Appa sized yawn.

"W-what if she's not even alive, guys? What if she died when the ceiling collapsed in Ba Sing Se? What if Zuko turned really, really bad and burned her alive? What if an armadillo lion snuck up on her while she was sleeping and _ate_ her?"

Toph yawned loudly enough to challenge Appa, "Sugar can take care of herself, Twinkletoes, tell Appa to head back to the base we need some sleep."

"Sleep! How can you talk about _sleep_ when the invasion is less than three days away, we aren't prepared and we are still _missing_ Katara! Sokka, tell her she's being crazy!"

Toph could feel Sokka's nerves dancing around in his body making his palms sweaty and his heart jittery. "I'm worried about Katara, too, Aang. I don't trust her with Zuko one bit, but she's every bit as much a warrior as any of us here, we need to trust in her. Toph's right, we need sleep."

Toph raised an eyebrow, impressed with the steadiness of Sokka's voice, successfully disguising his inner emotional turmoil.

Aang fell silent for a few moments and Toph prayed to the spirits he saw reason in their arguments. Finally he spoke, "I'll drop you guys off. You guys get some sleep and I'll keep looking for Katara."

She felt Appa's body veer sharply towards the left as Aang directed him back to the koala sheep inhabited island. Frustrated, Toph rubbed the bridge of her nose. Per usual, she and Sokka failed to calm Aang's more volatile mood. Internally, she groaned, longing for Katara. Katara could always calm Aang, sometimes, with just a simple touch on the shoulder.

Toph drummed her fingertips across the tough leather of Appa's saddle her stomach shifting uncomfortably while eying the back of the airbender's head. In all the time she spent with he and Katara, the said attraction between them proved entirely one sided. Toph didn't need to ask her best friend if she sheltered any romantic feelings for the airbender, she could _feel_ she didn't through their interactions.

With worries swimming in her head, Toph dismounted Appa and, exhausted, hardly bothered to set up her bedroll. She earthbended her tent around her body and listened to the rhythmic snores from Sokka. She heard Appa's grunt of protest when Aang called "Yip yip!" Really, Toph wasn't a big animal fan save the badger moles who taught her to earthbend, but she did feel a stab of sympathy for Appa who, doubtlessly, was just as tired as she.

Focusing on the earth beneath her fingertips, Toph planted her palm firmly against the ground and felt for any signs of approaching humans. She did this partly to avoid any unwanted Fire Nation ambushes, but, also, because she hoped to feel the familiar steps of Katara's gait. Feeling nothing other than she and Sokka, she sighed and succumbed to sleep.

…

"Toph! Sokka! Wake up!" A gust of wind rushed through the cracks in Toph's earth tent shocking her out of her slumber and sending her to her feet.

"What's going on? Who's talking?" Toph felt the thundering of Sokka's heart as he too leapt to his feet swinging his meteorite sword over his head.

"Sokka, you've got to get up and drill your rock climbing exercises!" Aang continued in a rushed, pitchy voice.

"What?" Asked Sokka, the confusion and exasperation plain on his voice.

"In one of my dreams, you were running from Fire Nation soldiers trying to climb this cliff, but you were too slow and they got you!" Aang jumped in the air, pointing urgently toward a steep cliff some fifty feet from their campsite.

Toph could practically feel the indignation seeping off of Sokka from where she stood. Despite herself, she giggled.

"But that was just a dream, I'm a great climber!" He protested marching up to Aang.

"Then climb that cliff, climb it fast!" Aang ordered with urgency, his finger still outstretched in the direction of the cliff.

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but, instead only a huff of air escaped his mouth, "Ok, ok." He dragged his feet along the ground as he made his way toward the cliff.

Toph laughed again and smirked at Aang, "Glad to hear you slept well, Twinkletoes." Her smile faltered slightly when she noted the dark circles underneath his eyes.

"And _you_ ," He gasped, turning on Toph with widening grey eyes. "You need to ration your water intake. In my dream we were right in the middle of the invasion and you had to stop to use the bathroom! You died because of your tiny bladder!"

Toph shook her head and snorted, "You're losing it, Twinkletoes, those are only dreams."

"But even Sokka's rock climbing and your bladder don't matter," He continued as if Toph never spoke, "Because in every dream I have, if Katara isn't with us, we fail one way or another." His hands clenched into fists at his sides and Toph felt the heat of emotion in his body. "I'll be looking for her today, again, if either of you want to bother to join me."

"You need to be resting, Aang," Toph attempted one more time though her patience was wearing thin, "You still aren't totally healed from your injuries in Ba Sing Se. And any other time you have we should be drilling earthbending forms!" Even months after suffering the lightning strike at Azula's hand, Aang continued to exhibit signs of pain and discomfort. When the young avatar attempted his more advanced earthbending forms, Toph noted the shudders of pain which stemmed from the center of his back. The injury worried Toph about Aang's ability to defeat the Fire Lord in two days, but despite the injury, Aang was still an extremely powerful bender, she needed to maintain faith in him.

"I know you don't have emotions the way the rest of us do, Toph, but I need to know Katara is safe before the invasion."

Feeling a bit hurt, Toph winced, but pressed her lips together tightly. She may as well yell at the cliff ledge Sokka currently scaled than continue her argument with Aang. She listened to Aang's quiet retreating steps and waited for the familiar rumble of the ground and whoosh of air indicating Appa taking flight.

…

Zuko

Zuko sat legs crossed with his hands folded and balanced in his lap. He kept his eyes closed as he breathed evenly in and out. Although he initially intended to meditate, it proved impossible with the consistent pacing of his companion back and forth across the short deck of their ship.

"And we're _sure_ they were heading east?" Katara questioned, nervously, for the fifth time that day.

Zuko sighed, "You're the one who spotted them."

"Yes, but then I pointed Appa out to you! And you're pretty sure you saw them, too, right?" Katara's pacing stopped right in front of where Zuko sat on the floor. Peeking out from under the hoods of his eyes, he peered up at the waterbender who stood staring down at him with huge, pleading blue eyes. His stomach flip flopped at the sight of her, how her blue eyes clashed against the vibrant red of her shirt, how her golden tinged skin clashed with the blue of the ocean surrounding them and how all these colors and their surroundings merged together to paint the image of the beautiful young woman before him.

"We're going the right direction, Katara. We'll find them before sunset, I'd guess. It's pretty remote in this area, only a couple small, uninhabited islands."

"I'm sorry, I'm just…" Katara nervously fiddled with the ends of her dark brown hair.

"Excited?" Zuko filled in.

A small smile graced her lips in response, "It's been over a month since I saw them last."

Zuko wished he shared her excitement. They had spotted Appa flying overhead the fourth day after they set off to sea, leaving Hama's town behind. Zuko remembered how the townspeople sent them off in a new boat with supplies, how they thanked him for saving their loved ones, how they addressed him as _Prince_ Zuko, but with sincerity Zuko rarely experienced associated with his ex-title. Zuko's sense of pride over his accomplishments in helping Katara take down Hama quickly drowned in a fresh wave of self-doubt once they spotted Appa.

Would Aang accept him as his firebending teacher? Katara seemed confident he would, but Zuko had tracked the kid across the world, threatened him a number of times and even hurt him, if minorly, during battle. How could he prove he was good now? He had Katara's vouch of confidence which he knew the avatar would value highly, but that proved his only leverage for the upcoming meeting.

His stomach squeezed with nerves, but, also, pleasure, thinking of how Katara trusted him now. Of course, his feelings regarding his companion were beginning to tread into dangerous water, no pun intended. When Hama used bloodbending to force Zuko's hand and swords into his own body, all he could think was how glad he was it was him she hurt and not Katara. He remembered staring into her tearstained face as she knelt by his side glad she would be the one to live. So many people loved Katara and she played an important role in the world, as the avatar's waterbending master, a healer and an, overall, good human being. The only other person in the universe, besides Katara, to cry over his death would be Uncle Iroh. No, if one of them deserved death by Hama's hand, Zuko knew it to be himself.

With difficulty, Zuko switched his train of thought from Katara back to the avatar.

 _I should probably apologize for chasing him all those months and attacking him so many times. Or, maybe, for how my grandfather annihilated his people, yah, probably owe him an apology for that too._

"Hey, Aang, Zuko here, we never formally met. So, the thing is, I have a lot of firebending experience, I'm considered to be pretty good at it, well, you've seen me firebend before, well, maybe we shouldn't talk about those times." Zuko trailed off lamely, glaring at the metal deck beneath him.

Katara's boisterous laughter cut through the air between them. "You're _practicing_?" She mocked, covering her mouth with her hand.

Zuko moved his glare from the metal deck to her face, "Mind your own business!"

Katara rolled her eyes, "You don't need to practice to meet Aang. Just tell him the truth and be yourself."

"And what about your brother? I destroyed your whole village! And he hasn't had weeks of one on one time to forgive me! And the earthbender, well, she likes my uncle well enough, but she doesn't know _me_ very well at all!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Sokka's thickheaded, but he'll get over it. And Toph wanted you to teach Aang firebending from the first time she met you in Ba Sing Se."

"Really?" Zuko looked at Katara, taken aback. Normally, people didn't like him right off the bat, especially, people from the Earth Kingdom.

Katara shrugged and graced him with a kind smile, "She's a big fan of your uncle's, I suppose, since you're his nephew, she knew there'd be some good in you before even I did." Zuko watched her cheeks turn pink as she finished her statement and his own neck flushed.

"Does one always end up getting stabbed in the gut when trying to be good?" He questioned half as a joke and half legitimately worried this being a good person thing was going to get him killed.

Katara chuckled, "It's not always easy, but you're handling it well." She approached him slowly with a soft expression. "You really are a good person, Zuko, and with your father being who he is and Azula….it's impressive."

Zuko felt the familiar twinge of guilt in his gut which always accompanied any compliments Katara paid him towards his character. After all the horrible acts he committed against her in the past and her saving him at the brink of death, she still managed to find him _impressive_. He felt such a rush of affection for her it stole his breath. Simultaneously, the heavy weight of doubt he could ever repay her for her forgiveness settled into his shoulders pressing him into the cold, metal floor.

"Look, Zuko, I can see the island! It's that little black dot right there! That must be where they were headed it's the only piece of land out here!" Katara pointed over the ocean rolling onto the balls of her feet in excitement.

Zuko rose slowly to his own feet, and scanned the horizon. Sure enough, a black stretch of land appeared just within their range of vision. Katara clutched his forearm and shook it in her elation. Zuko closed his eyes again, simply enjoying the feel of her soft fingers on his bare skin. His own fingertips trembled slightly, longing to touch her in return. He gritted his teeth and attempted to banish his thoughts to the depths of his mind. They would be reunited with Katara's family and the avatar soon, there was no room for his attraction and growing affections for the waterbender in wartime. Never mind, how horrified Katara's friends and she herself would surely feel lest they figured him out.

Their boat approached steep cliff ridges at a rapid pace. Zuko clutched onto the siderail his knuckles turning white. Sharp, hidden rocks scratched noisily upon impact with the metal hull of the boat and the many riptides of the current attempted to pull the steer in every direction creating a whiplash effect whenever Katara pulled them back on course. Without Katara's bending, Zuko knew they would have failed to dock safely on the rocky beach.

Eager to feel solid ground underneath his boots, Zuko leapt out of the boat. The earthy smell of foliage drifted on the breeze down the cliffs to where he and Katara stood feet deep in sand. Zuko cast his eyes towards where the sun began its descent in the sky and breathed in some of its energy, feeding his chi.

"Toph should figure out we've landed any minute," Katara spoke next to him, her words coming out a little too fast. Zuko eyed her curiously and noted the slight blush in her cheeks when she looked up at him. She picked at her hair nervously and Zuko wondered why she would fret over seeing her friends and brother again. "This is it, not just the two of us anymore," She continued with a small, strained laugh.

"I know," He responded, narrowing his eyes at her, confused by her strange behavior. Yes, he enjoyed having Katara to himself the past few days. Yes, he wished he could be selfish and steal more time alone with her, but the whole purpose of him joining her in the first place was to get to the avatar to teach him firebending and help him defeat his father. Besides, any more time with the talented and attractive girl in front of him and his willpower would break. He'd tell her something he would regret or do something he would regret and, then, he'd lose he even as a friend.

One last time, he allowed his eyes to rove her body. He stared at the feminine curve of her neck and the just visible collarbones protruding slightly between her shoulders. He took in the twin peaks of her breasts, the seductive curve of her waist and the soft, dark skin of her midsection. His eyes lingered over her womanly hips, remembering how they swayed under his hands when they danced. Every inch of her seemed to beg for his touch, and he longed to feel how her body curled so perfectly into his when they were pressed together. He savored those memories of holding her while she slept, so content, in his arms. What he would give to go back to that moment.

Katara, somewhat apprehensively, appeared to be eyeing him up and down, as well. Finally, their eyes met and Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat. "I should say thank you, Katara, for giving me a chance and for giving me your trust, but words could never truly convey my gratitude." He offered her a short bow and stared with his head tilted up into blue eyes.

"Oh, Zuko," She murmured with emotion, her lips breaking into a small smile.

Zuko's own heart leapt hearing his name murmured so softly from her lips.

" _SUGAR QUEEN!"_ A young girl's voice bellowed from the top of the cliff.

"Katara! Thank Yue, it's Katara!" An older male voice joined the girl's from above them.

Sure enough, the sand shifted beneath them as the cliff gave way to an earthbender rockslide which a young girl dressed in a slim, light red dress swiftly surfed down onto the beach. The blind earthbender, Toph, stood before them with a smug expression across her face.

"Just in the knick of time, Ice Princess, knew you'd make it." She folded her arms and cocked her heads towards Katara.

Katara's face broke into an impossibly radiant smile. "Toph! By the spirits, it's amazing to see you!" With those words, Katara broke into an unsteady sprint across the sand to engulf her younger friend into an embrace. Toph coughed uncomfortably at the aggressive hug.

"Ok, ok, I'm glad to see you too!"

Katara released her friend with a sheepish expression. "Didn't mean to get, ugh, carried away," She giggled, still beaming down at the black haired earth bender.

"Katara!" The older male voice echoed across the sand as the Water Tribe boy, Sokka, landed, ungracefully, on his bottom choosing to fall rather than scale the remaining few feet of the cliff to the beach.

Katara's smile wavered with emotion and Zuko watched tears of happiness pool in her eyes at the sight of her brother.

"Sokka," She breathed.

"Well, give me a hug," Sokka spread his arms open for his younger sister who crossed the distance between them in seconds. Sokka pressed Katara into his arms and half spun her in the air, mirroring her emotional smile.

"Where have you been? Are you ok?" He immediately began drilling Katara with questions placing both his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm ok, Sokka, I promise, Zuko and I went searching for you in the colonies first. We didn't think in a million years you'd be right in the heart of the Fire Nation!"

With Katara's mention of Zuko, the Water Tribe boy's expression changed instantaneously. Pushing Katara to the side, Sokka looked across the beach to lock eyes with the firebender. His eyebrows pulled together and Zuko watched him reach towards the hilt attached to his belt and pull an unusual dark bladed sword from its sheath.

"You," He hissed, practically stabbing Zuko to pieces with his eyes. "I thought we were rid of you a long time ago, hoped you drowned in the North Pole, to be honest."

"I know you must be surprised to see me here," Zuko countered, awkwardly running his hand through his bangs.

"Not really, considering you followed us all over the world," Sokka continued coldly, taking a couple steps towards Zuko, his sword pinpointed at his chest.

"Sokka," Katara sighed, moving to grip her brother's shoulder, but Sokka shook her off.

"Nothing you can say, Katara, will convince me to trust him!" His voice quivered with anger and Zuko watched Katara wince at the unexpected verbal attack. Sokka turned back to Zuko his rage fully spread across his face, "Look, thanks for not hurting my sister and helping her get back to us, but you can go now. I think I speak for everyone when I say we don't want you anywhere near us."

"No, Sokka, you're not speaking for all of us!" Katara finally managed to get a word in running around to her brother's side and placing her own hand over Sokka's which gripped the handle of his sword so tightly Zuko figured he was cutting off blood supply to his entire arm. "I've been travelling with Zuko for _weeks_ , I know him better than any of you. He's _changed."_

Sokka snorted deliriously, "So we can add _mind control_ to Zuko's list of nasty firebender tricks."

Katara rolled her eyes, "Sokka, just listen to me-"

"No, Katara, this is between me and Sokka," Zuko interrupted her argument, meeting Sokka's eyes with his own. The Water Tribe boy's eyes were eerily similar to his sister's and it made Zuko's stomach twist uncomfortably to see them so filled with hatred.

"Sokka, I'm sorry about hurting you in the past, all of you, but I'm here now to prove myself to you. I want to teach the avatar firebending and I want to help you defeat my father."

"You wanna what now?" Toph's voice broke through the thick tension between the two young men. She "eyed" Zuko with amusement and curiosity. "Hate to break it to you, Sparky, but it's kind of bad timing right now for, you know, firebending. But, hey, I'm all for Aang learning after he's knocked your daddy into oblivion during the eclipse tomorrow."

Sokka groaned loudly and slammed his palm into his forehead. "Great job, Toph, you told him the plan, now we'll have to kill him."

"Kill him?" Katara all, but shrieked her eyes bulging out of her head.

However, Zuko crossed his arms in front of his chest and snorted with humor, "I'd like to see you try." He smirked, knowing he shouldn't antagonize the non-bender, but his pride was wounded by Sokka's words, besides, he wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"Out of my way, Katara," Sokka roughly pushed his sister to the side, eyes zeroed in on the Fire Prince.

Katara groaned and clutched at her head. "Stop being _stupid_ , both of you!"

Sokka stalked closer to Zuko and Zuko noted the well-placed steps of his gait, impressed. He never considered Sokka a challenge, or, well, even a factor at all during battle, but he seemed to have gained some newfound skills with the strange sword he yielded. Falling into a defensive position, he eyed the approaching Water Tribe boy warily.

Sokka's mouth set into a firm, angry line and he cried out for all the island to hear charging straight towards Zuko swinging his sword above his head. Zuko leaned back into his feet, preparing to the parry the blow when the ground beneath him gave way. Spinning rapidly, Zuko felt the sand suck his legs and waist into the ground and cement him in place. A few feet directly in front of him he watched the same fate befall Sokka.

"Let me teach you something about boys, Sugar Queen," Toph's confident voice drifted across the beach, "They respond best to a _firm_ hand."

Zuko squirmed and clutched at handfuls of sand surrounding him in attempt to free himself. His vision spun in his eyes, a result of the painful twirling his body endured when being drilled into the sand by Toph's earthbending. He cleared his throat and shouted with desperation, "Look, I swear to the moon, ocean, earth and fire spirits I'm not trying to fight anyone! I'm here to teach the avatar firebending! Katara, tell them!" He all, but begged looking for the familiar womanly figure and rolling dark waves of hair.

Katara snorted with indignation, "I thought this was between you and Sokka?" She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and Zuko groaned, regretting his own words.

"Well, there's one easy way to handle this," Toph announced, pointing towards the sky to the top of the ridged cliff surrounding them. Zuko strained his neck to peer high above them where a large, imposing sky bison stood silhouetted by the afternoon sky and, by the creature's side, poised the slim, male figure of the last airbender.

"Aang!" Katara cried waving her arms in the air towards the peak of the cliff.

The small figure of the avatar used airbending to skillfully descend from the cliff and landed lightly on the beach below, directly between where Sokka and Zuko's heads emerged from the sand. Aang's head whisked around rapidly, taking in the scene before him.

"Sokka, what happened to your body? Is that _Zuko's_ head? Are you really Katara? Toph, am I hallucinating?" His words rushed out of his mouth as he spun in place, kicking up sand which landed in Zuko's hair.

"Nope, Sugar Queen's back and she brought Prince Sparky with her," Toph responded easily, her arms crossing over her chest.

Finally, Aang faced Katara straight on. Zuko watched the expression of awe and undoubted affection cross the young airbender's face. "Katara," He breathed his voice laced with relief and many other emotions Zuko feared to identify.

"Aang." Like with her brother, tears welled up in Katara's eyes and she sprinted across the few feet of distance separating her from the young boy. Aang opened his arms just in time to catch the waterbender.

"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara spoke just loud enough for the rest of them to make out her words, "I didn't mean to leave you in Ba Sing Se. I was so worried, I thought you may have…after Azula shot you down, even after I healed you."

Aang pulled out of their embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You saved my life, Katara, there's no need to apologize for anything."

Katara smiled weakly and nodded, "I need to see the wound right away, Aang, and make sure it's healing right. Hopefully, I can speed it along, have it back to full strength by tomorrow."

Aang never moved his grey eyes from Katara's face and the girl returned his intense gaze, and Zuko forced himself to look away, a sickly acidic feeling sitting in his stomach.

"Um, ahem," Sokka's voice broke the trance between Aang and Katara, "I, too, am happy to see my sister, but, unfortunately, she has been brainwashed."

Katara rolled her eyes and shot a fierce glare at her brother, "Don't listen to a word he says, Aang."

"Just look at who she brought to our secret rendezvous!" Unable to move any other part of his body, Sokka inclined his head aggressively towards where Zuko also sat submerged chest deep in sand. "And she told him the secret invasion plan! Please, explain to her we need to execute him now."

Aang's confused eyes flickered between Sokka and Zuko. "Zuko?" He gasped with realization, "Did he steal your body, Sokka?"

Sokka groaned, "On second thought, go take a nap, Kid."

"A nap?" Aang looked at Sokka with new horror, "But the invasion is the day after tomorrow and Katara _just_ got back!"

Zuko narrowed his eyes and studied the young airbender closely. He noted deep, indented dark circles underneath the boy's eyes and an uncharacteristic shaking in his fingertips. Knowing the look of many sleepless nights, Zuko experienced a quick feeling of sympathy for the avatar. Then, he remembered how the boy looked at Katara and his amicable feelings faded.

A kind understanding settled across Katara's blue eyes. "Aang, how about a healing session for your back? That should help you sleep."

"What the hell do we do with Zuko in the mean time?" Sokka demanded, exasperated.

"Take me as a prisoner," Zuko offered immediately, "I'll speak with the avatar when he's, ugh, feeling better."

"That could work," Sokka allowed begrudgingly.

Katara released a hiss of annoyance, "That's totally unnecessary."

"It's ok, Katara, go help Aang." Zuko nodded to her with reassurance.

Katara pressed her lips together and seemed to hesitate for a moment, but, then nodded back to him. "Ok, Toph, make sure my brother behaves."

"Oh, how I missed taking orders from you, Sugar Queen," Toph sighed with feigned joy.

…

Katara

Aang fell asleep minutes into their healing session in-between stories of the various horrifying nightmares he had been experiencing recently. Katara's heart clenched with sympathy for the boy who carried 100 years of responsibility on such young shoulders. Immediately, began the internal struggle with her own guilt over her absence the past weeks. Mindlessly, she stroked her hand over Aang's back healing the more complex portions of the wound while she replayed her time away from team avatar with their sworn enemy.

When the handsome, scarred face came to mind her heart fluttered. Apparently, being reunited with her brother and friends had done nothing so far to discourage her developing feelings for the firebender. She groaned out loud and shook her head. Sokka would _murder_ them both if he knew about the kiss. The kiss. A thrill passed through her body nearly causing her control of the water which layered her healing hand. She _needed_ to stop reacting to Zuko like this, it was unhealthy and unproductive.

Maybe she should have spoken to Zuko about her feelings for him before rejoining the group. Would a conversation help? Of course, she presumed he shared none of the feelings she was experiencing, but, maybe, just getting them out into the open would help her move on.

But what if she was wrong? What if telling him only made her feelings worse, her reactions to him stronger?

Aang stirred beneath her hand, "Shh, go back to sleep," She cooed, as if it were her own young child she soothed to sleep.

The airbender fumbled with a few words Katara failed to distinguish.

"What was that?" She asked softly.

"I-I…luv…wu." Aang's words were garbled and impossible to understand, she didn't even think he was fully awake. She sighed, "Just rest, Aang, we'll talk tomorrow, ok?"

The airbender's head nodded and, a few second later the stirring ceased. Deciding to pick up on her healing progress in a few hours, Katara exited Aang's makeshift tent to check on her brother and Zuko.

…

Zuko 

The longest most uncomfortable night of Zuko's short life passed with more than its fair share of hiccups. Zuko lay by the campfire with his hands cast in solid, rock shackles, complimentary of Toph Bei Fong. Said shackles offered new challenges for seemingly simple activities, such as, eating, sleeping or, even, going to the bathroom.

Sokka stationed himself some ten feet from Zuko where he tucked his sword close to his body and woke every couple hours to shoot murderous looks towards the other teenage boy. Neither of them slept with a tent and, due to the close proximity, Sokka's snoring interrupted Zuko's poor attempts to sleep whenever he found a somewhat comfortable position despite the handcuffs.

To his disappointment, he only saw Katara a couple times. First, when she finished healing the avatar and exited his tent to scream ferociously at her brother on Zuko's behalf. Apparently, Water Tribe civilians were just as volatile at firebenders when angered and the siblings left their argument on poor terms. Zuko felt a stab of guilt for creating the rift between Katara and Sokka. He even attempted to yell at Katara to stop fighting with her brother which earned him his own tongue lashing. Second, when she sat beside him after the sun had set and thanked him.

"Thank you for bringing me home to them. I'll always be grateful for your help." Zuko attempted to wave her off, but, much to his own surprise she wrapped him in a tight hug right there at the campfire in front of Sokka and Toph.

"Oh, that's just great," Sokka snapped in response, "Get your hands off my sister you creep," He glared at Zuko from over Katara's shoulder.

Katara snorted with derision. "Shut up, Sokka, _I_ hugged _him_. And he can't use his hands at all anyways, you know, because of the ridiculous shackles you insisted we keep on him."

Sokka stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms tightly over his chest, "Well that's disgusting of you then."

Katara whipped around to face her brother drawing her arms away from Zuko. He watched the fire of anger light in her eyes and her fingers twitched towards her waterskin.

Zuko opened his mouth to attempt to calm her and prevent another fight between the siblings, but Toph beat him to it. The small blind girl stomped the ground hard enough to send ripples of earth in either direction towards Sokka and Katara. "Just knock it _off_ already, some of us want to get some sleep tonight and that can't happen with the two of you at each other's throats! You're brother and sister for the spirits' sakes and you haven't seen each other in weeks just be grateful you're both _alive_ for _one_ minute!"

Katara continued to glare towards her brother, but Zuko noted how the corners of her mouth softened. Sokka's withering expression persisted. " _My_ sister does not befriend evil firebenders." With that, Katara stormed off to bed, attempting to hide the tears watering in her eyes and Toph built her unique rock tent, hence, Zuko's primarily sleepless night began.

Many hours later, awakened with the rising sun, Zuko stretched his legs and waited for his judgment by the avatar. He couldn't help, but train his eyes over the entrance of the avatar's tent, heart thudding nervously waiting for the first movements of the flap to reveal he was awake.

"Have you _forgotten_ great grand daddy Sozin _murdered_ every single airbender at the start of the 100 year war? No way Aang forgives that, no way he lets you into our group." So Sokka was awake.

Ignoring the Water Tribe boy, Zuko stared resolutely at the tent entrance. Finally, movement stirred the thin fabric from within. Zuko felt prickles of sweat erupt across his back. Aang emerged from his sleep with a long yawn. He wore a Fire Nation school uniform and Zuko noted his long brown hair which helped to cover the blue arrow across his head. He eyed the campfire blearily, taking in Sokka's hostile form and, then, Zuko.

Blinking rapidly Aang exclaimed, "It really _is_ Zuko! I thought, maybe, I hallucinated that entire thing! Sokka, what's Zuko doing here?"

He turned towards his friend gaping with confusion. Sokka narrowed his eyes across the campfire at Zuko with rage, "Katara brought him here. For what purpose is beyond me."

Zuko cleared his throat and attempted with as much confidence as possible, "I'm here to help you defeat my father. And to teach you firebending."

Aang's mouth practically dropped into the yellow grass at his feet. "T-teach me firebending? You?"

Zuko's heart increased in rate nervously, "Well, I have a lot of experience, you know, firebending! And-and I'm good now! Just ask Katara!"

At the sound of her name, Katara's eyes poked out from the flap of her tent. Zuko tried not to get distracted by the adorable way her hair, fresh from bed, tangled around her face.

"It's true, Aang, I've been with Zuko for over a month now, he's changed."

Sokka snorted loudly, "Did it ever occur to you he could have been _pretending_ to be good?"

Katara grit her teeth, but ignored her brother. "Zuko's one of the best firebenders we know, he'd be a good teacher for you, Aang. I can't make the decision for you, but I'll have you know I trust Zuko completely, I-I don't think I would have made it back to you guys without him."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck, eyes frowning with thought. Looking back up to Zuko himself the avatar approached him cautiously and, seeming wary, sat cross legged on the dirt floor across from him.

"After all the times you tried to capture me, I'm not sure I can trust you. If wasn't for Katara, I'd never even consider allowing you to join us." He pressed his lips together and met Zuko's eyes with his own. "But I did say once, I thought we could be friends."

"What? Not you too, Aang! The minute we get comfortable around him he'll betray us!"

"I know I've done a lot of bad things," Zuko interjected, "And I've hurt a lot of people. I was angry and confused for a long time. I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to be good and I know my destiny is to help you defeat my father."

"Zuko's done good, too," Katara walked around to stand behind Aang. "He set Appa free in Ba Sing Se and he helped a lot of the people there as a vigilante! Before he even joined us!"

"How do you know what Zuko was doing in Ba Sing Se?" Sokka demanded, suspiciously.

"Zuko was in Ba Sing Se with us pretty much the entire time," Toph announced her entrance into the conversation, the earth walls of her tent collapsing. "Katara and I knew for weeks, but I could tell he wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to cause us any trouble. I knew he was telling the truth then and I can feel he's telling the truth now."

Sokka sputtered with anger, "He was in Ba Sing Se and you guys _knew_ and didn't tell me and Aang! That was so dangerous! Zuko could have hurt Aang, or worse, and it would have been your fault!"

Katara rolled her eyes, "But he didn't so, clearly, we made the right choice."

Zuko sent a small smile in her direction which she returned. His own heart rate steadied, comforted by Katara's vote of confidence.

"Please, um, Aang, let me prove I'm on your side." He gazed imploringly at the younger boy.

"We don't need him on our side, Aang, the war's over tomorrow. You can't learn firebending in one day which doesn't even matter because you can't use it during the eclipse! Plus, it's a stupid element." He glared pointedly at Zuko who itched to defend his element, but, instead, squared his jaw and kept his eyes locked on Aang.

"That's true," Aang sighed, "I can't learn an entire element by the end of today, even the avatar's not that good."

"I can help with the invasion," Zuko continued, worry stretching in his voice, "I have information about the palace city and my father's defenses. Like the secret bunker he'll be in during the eclipse!"

"Secret bunker!" Sokka's mouth dropped open, "That's gotta be a lie."

Zuko shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm telling the truth. The bunker's built into the volcano and it's massive, I don't know how you'll find my father down there."

Toph feigned a yawn, "Massive metal bunker? Piece of cake, I'll find Fire Lord daddy in two minutes."

"Won't you be blind in a metal bunker, like, actually blind?" Asked Katara, shaking her head with confusion.

"Oh, Sugar Queen, I picked up a few new tricks while you were gone, like, for example, metal bending."

Zuko's eyes widened at the girl, surprised and impressed. He then flickered his gaze up to Katara's face. She had learned a few new tricks, as well. He waited for her to share the power of bloodbending with her friends and the story of her lessons with Hama, but the water tribe girl only grinned towards her friend. "Impressive, Toph."

"Oh, I know," Toph waved the compliment off with a smirk.

Confused by Katara's lack of disclosure, Zuko attempted to brush off his feelings of unease and refocus the conversation with Aang.

"I can help you fight him," He offered. He forced his expression to remain impassive, but, internally, the thought of seeing his father again scared him senseless. He hadn't seen the man in over three and a half years and just the thought of his father's face dredged up old feelings of failure and insignificance.

Aang sucked on the inside of his cheek, his face twisted with doubt. "Sokka, the monks taught me everyone deserves a second chance."

With his words, Toph waved her hand and the makeshift shackles released Zuko's hands and wrists. He rubbed them on his pants, grateful to have his freedom back.

"Don't come crying to me when he betrays us all and ruins the invasion," Sokka snapped.

Aang pressed his lips together, "We need to be safe about this, though." He met Zuko's eyes with surprising confidence. "Zuko, you'll come with us to the invasion, but you won't fight the Fire Lord with me. I'm sorry, but I can't trust you with that, not so quickly."

Zuko remained impassive, forcibly hiding his disappointment. "For the rest of the day you'll work with Sokka and I to revise the invasion plan to include the bunker. You're _positive_ that's where your dad will be? The invasion _is_ a secret."

"It doesn't matter, the eclipse makes my father vulnerable and he knows that. He'll be in the bunker with only his most trusted guards. Even among the Fire Nation, my father has his enemies."

Aang nodded thoughtfully, "If, when, we win this war we'll start firebending training immediately, I'll need it to maintain peace in the world." Zuko snuck a glance over his shoulder where Katara stood, beaming down on the two of them. Zuko swallowed the warm feelings of affection her smile invoked in him. Across the clearing, he could feel Sokka's persistent glare and Zuko forced his eyes as opposite a direction from Katara as possible for the remainder of the morning, not wanting to incite the young man.

…

"I haven't seen my father in five years," Katara murmured next to Zuko. "I was ten years old then, all my memories of him, they're the memories of a child. Will I even recognize him? Will he recognize me?"

The first rays of an early morning sun cast light blue and pink lights over the horizon. Foggy, low hanging clouds cast miles of mist around their island, making it difficult to see very far out to sea. While Sokka, Aang and Toph still slept soundly, Zuko awoke minutes earlier to the sound of light footsteps headed towards the cliff. He followed Katara silently and watched her pace at the edge of the cliff, arms folded nervously over her chest. Now, she twirled a strand of dark brown hair around her finger, her eyes trained against the hazy fog over the ocean.

"He's your father," Zuko whispered back, "I don't know him personally, but, from your stories, I have no doubt he'll recognize his daughter." Hesitantly, he reached across the space between them and placed a hand of comfort on her upper back. His hand warmed from the physical contact between them and he fought the urge to draw the nervous girl into his arms and press her against him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched how the early morning colors of the sky clung to her dark brown waves and glowed with contact around her tanned skin.

"Thank you," She finally answered some minutes later, but Zuko could tell something still irked her by the expression on her face. He watched her behavior closely and noted how she peeked behind them at the campsite nervously.

He let out a breath of air and withdrew his hand from her back. "You're worried he'll be angry with you? Like Sokka is?" Zuko muttered, running a hand through his hair. "For bringing me here."

The Water Tribe girl beside him chewed on her lower lip and her eyes widened with mild alarm. "Of course not, Zuko. My father isn't a pighead like Sokka." But Zuko could tell she lied and his heart sank. Would his only purpose in Katara's life ever be to cause her grief? First, by making an enemy of her and stalking the avatar and, now, by creating a rift between herself and her family. Folding his own arms over his chest, Zuko studied the dirt beneath his feet while he harshly reprimanded himself for his continued affections for the girl next to him. He needed to leave Katara alone, walk away from her and stop creating problems in her life. But the thought of walking away from her stabbed like one of Azula's lightning strikes into his chest.

Maybe, he should just tell her how he felt about her? Allow her rejection to be the deciding factor. If he didn't have the strength to walk away from her, then he needed her to command him away. Which she would, no doubt, once she knew the extent of his emotions for her, the way she made him feel, the way he wanted to kiss her and hold her and make love to her. His cheeks reddening, Zuko murdered this line of thought and turned to look at Katara still staring out to sea beside him.

"Everything changes after today. I need you to know something before the invasion starts-"

"The invasion fleet! It's them!" Katara's excited shout cut through his low voice.

The sound of her voice beckoned their three other companions out of sleep and Aang, Toph and Sokka rushed to join them at the cliff's edge.

"Earthbending ride to the beach anybody?" Toph's usually gravely morning voice cut through the air with excitement. The five of them balanced atop an earthbended slab of stone which Toph lowered down the side of the cliff with ease.

Zuko eyed the avatar, wondering what happened to the flying staff the boy so often used to evade him.

The group watched the ships approach with mixed enthusiasm and trepidation. Katara rolled on the balls of her feet beside Zuko, occasionally, mentioning various names of friends she hoped for Zuko to meet. Toph sat down in the sand with her legs folded in front of her playing with sand tornados of her own making. Aang paced the length of the beach, maybe, a hundred times while, every few minutes, launching himself some twenty feet in the air to determine the ships' progress. Sokka stood as far away from Zuko as the beach allowed clenching and unclenching his fist while whispering rapidly to himself sounding like he was practicing some sort of a speech.

The large wooden vessels docked one by one. Zuko noted the large blue and white sails adorned by the Water Tribe symbol of the waning crescent moon. The first man to undock was an incredibly tall, dark skinned Water Tribe warrior. He walked with such pride Zuko wondered if it was the chief, Katara's father.

The girl's face next to him broke into a smile, "Bato! You made it back to the rest of the fleet." The Water Tribe warrior rushed to greet Katara first and swept her into a hug.

"Good to see you again, Katara. Your father will be so glad to see you safe." His smile faded slightly when he eyed Sokka's form. "We picked up everyone you instructed us to collect, but, you should know, some of these men aren't exactly the warrior type."

As if to prove his words, the next people to walk ashore wore only loincloths as clothing and green leaf hats. They grinned at Aang and bowed their respect to him and turned to Katara and Zuko.

"Howdy, folks, good to see you, Aang, Sokka, Katara, to those who don't know us I'm Mako and these here boys are Due and Tho." The plumpy, sturdiest built among them gestured behind him to an even shorter and plumper man and a man nearly as tall at Bato with a long black ponytail.

"What's that over there, Due? A Fire Nation trap, you reckon?" The tall, skinny one pointed towards a normal moss covered boulder.

"A rock," Bato corrected with an exasperated expression.

"Are those men not wearing any _pants?_ " Toph hissed her question up towards Zuko.

Zuko attempted to shake his head discreetly but the sturdy man heard the blind girl's question. "Pants are an illusion," He informed them, "And so is death."

Zuko stared incredulously at the man attempting to figure what correlation pants possibly shared with death.

"Haru!"

Katara's joyful voice shook Zuko from his thoughts and he watched the back of Katara's hair as she ran to greet a young man about his own age. The man had long, straight brown hair and wore the green uniform of an earthbender. He embraced Katara tightly and Zuko attempted to bury the roar of envy and possessiveness which reared its head in his stomach at the site of Katara touching another young man.

"Good to see you, Katara," The young man, Haru, pulled away from her and approached Zuko and Toph. Up close, Zuko saw a small mustache adorned his upper lip and, as was common among the Earth Kingdom, he sported dark green eyes. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the stranger, so Katara liked facial hair? He could grow facial hair.

"I'm Haru, Katara helped my village some months ago when she was travelling with the Avatar. She caught me earthbending and helped save my father and the other earthbenders from a Fire Nation prison. Well, that's the short story," He chuckled at the end.

Zuko only narrowed his eyes further and Toph shrugged beside him, "Sounds like Katara."

An older man who resembled Haru walked up behind the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Katara did more than save us from a prison. She restored our hope." A number of earthbenders in matching uniforms to Haru and his father gathered behind the pair. "It's time for us to repay the favor and fight for our nation."

Zuko saw Katara's cheeks flush from the praise and she smiled sheepishly.

An explosion from the third Water Tribe ship caught everyone's attention. Sokka ran past where Zuko stood headed towards the now smoking ship.

From inside the ship, Zuko squinted his eyes to watch a boy in a wheelchair emerge followed by a harassed looking older man with spectacles whose hair appeared singed on the cusps.

"Was that a new invention?" Sokka asked the older man excitedly as he and the boy approached the beach.

"Yes, but, unfortunately, incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce proved to be a failure."

"A delicious failure," The boy in the wheelchair offered a smile at the older man before looking at Zuko. Zuko could feel the boy's eyes study his scar before introducing himself, "I'm Teo and this if my father, he's an inventor and a talented mechanist."

Zuko couldn't help, but raise an eyebrow skeptically. What kind of an inventor attempted to make a bomb out of _peanut sauce_? The boy continued to smile lightly up towards him, probably, expecting an introduction in return. Zuko swallowed nervously and ran a hand through his hair before another cry from his companions saved him from the awkwardness of the moment.

"Pipsqueak! The Duke!" Katara ran to embrace another couple of teenagers. Aang and Sokka followed suit, all with wide smiles across their face. One appeared a few years older than Zuko and was massive in size, the other appeared a few years younger and was short and slight in stature.

Zuko cast a glance at the young, blind girl by his side suddenly very grateful for her companionship. She didn't seem to know any of the avatar and Katara's old friends either. His relief was short lived when her face broke into a look of utter shock.

She spun around wildly on the sand, "Is that-" She started, but was unable to finish when the largest man Zuko had ever seen in his life swept her off her feet into a giant hug.

"The Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit." The man's voice boomed across the beach.

The man's rolling layers of fat concealed, Zuko didn't doubt, large muscles and strength. He silently hoped the man didn't break Toph's neck accidentally in his embrace.

"You here for a rematch?" Toph demanded, her voice muffled by the Hippo's layers of neck skin.

"Negatory, the Boulder and Hippo no longer fight for other's entertainment. Now, we fight for our Kingdom." Another large muscular man announced from behind the Hippo.

The Hippo placed Toph back on the ground and she smiled up at the two men. "Sweet, good to have a couple quality earthbenders at my back."

Zuko's eyes automatically scanned the crowds of people for one young woman. He spotted her a few feet away speaking with that spirits forsaken earthbender Haru. Zuko folded his arms and wore his face as impassive as possible as he closed the distance between them.

Katara saw him approach and greeted him with a signature, vivid smile. His stomach somersaulted and his lips quirked back without his permission. But Katara's eyes drifted away from his face and fixed on a point somewhere behind him.

"Dad," She whispered, only low enough for Zuko and Haru to hear.

"Chief Hakoda?" Asked Haru, looking to where Katara stared eyes wide and round as melons.

Swallowing the growing nerves in his chest, Zuko turned to get his first look at the Southern Water Tribe chief and, more importantly, Katara's father. He was a man of medium stature, but tough rippling muscles covered his arms and attentive blue eyes assessed the forces around him as he approached the beach. Water Tribe warriors flanked him on either side and, one look at the way they behaved with their Chief, Zuko knew his men held him in great esteem. Finally, the man's eyes locked on his own.

Zuko rarely backed down from a challenge and few men could stare him down. Years of banishment and shame taught him to be tough, to hold his head high even when all he felt was self-disdain. Even men as dangerous as Zhao failed to intimidate the young prince, but Chief Hakoda's blue eyes looked straight through Zuko in their appraisal. Zuko watched those familiar, yet, unfamiliar blue eyes move from his own to study the scar across the left side of his face. Unconsciously, Zuko reached a hand up to touch it, fear boiling in his gut.

A small figure blew by his side, sprinting straight towards the Chief. "Dad!" Katara cried loudly enough and with enough emotion to draw the attention of many bystanders.

Zuko felt a rush of relief when Chief Hakoda's eyes were drawn from him to his approaching daughter.

"Katara," The Chief sighed as he embraced his daughter for the first time in five years. Zuko watched the back of Katara's shoulders shake with undoubted tears of joy. Chief Hakoda wiped his own eyes of emotion when he stepped back from his daughter.

"You are safe, you are healthy," Chief Hakoda murmured looking her up and down with the critical eye of a concerned parent.

"Yes, so are you, I suppose the Fire Nation hasn't gotten the best of us yet?" Katara smiled in almost a joking fashion.

Chief Hakoda laughed heartily, "They certainly have not."

His eyes drifted over his daughter's head and landed on Zuko again. The smile draped across his lips faded. Zuko forced his legs and feet to carry him forward towards Chief Hakoda. _Eyes up, head high, shoulders back_ he commanded of his body.

Katara turned to stand by her father's side as Zuko approached. Though it took only seconds, the moments seemed to drag out painfully for Zuko. This man could be his undoing. He commanded the forces of this invasion, not to mention, the ruler of a major territory. Would he even care Zuko was here to help? Did he know Zuko destroyed the village he left behind? How many Water Tribe men had died by Ozai's hand? Would he blame Zuko for their deaths, as well? Feeling as if his back weighed a million pounds, Zuko stopped his advance a couple feet short of the Chief. As was customary to bow to a man in a superior position, Zuko folded his hands in front of his chest and tilted forward in respect.

Chief Hakoda watched his actions with a raised eyebrow.

"Dad," Katara's voice betrayed some of her own nerves, "This is-"

"I know." Chief Hakoda's commanding voice cut her off. "Your face is legend, Prince Zuko." Chief Hakoda studied him carefully, his eyes wary, but, also, curious. "Now, why does a Prince of the Fire Nation, even a banished one, bow to a lowly Chief of the smallest Water Tribe nation? Are we not considered peasants by Fire Nation royalty?"

If every single person on the beach had not been following their encounter before, after the Chief's announcement of Zuko's identity, all the conversations died down around them to listen to the one taking place between himself and Chief Hakoda.

Feeling the pressure of a hundred eyeballs all focused on him, Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat and fought the growing heat in his hands. The _last_ thing he needed was an accidental burst of firebending right now. "Not a banished prince anymore," He corrected, "I don't think traitors are awarded any titles to brag about."

"A traitor?" Chief Hakoda's eyebrows rose, "You would betray your father? Your whole family?"

"Not my whole family," Zuko explained, "my uncle and I defected together in Ba Sing Se."

"Your uncle," Chief Hakoda didn't bother to hide his surprise, "the Dragon of the West, General Iroh?" He asked in a voice close to disbelief.

Zuko nodded in what he hoped was a respectful manner.

"Well, where is he?" Hakoda demanded.

Zuko forced his face to stay calm, to not betray his emotions. "I don't know, he fought my sis-Princess Azula in Ba Sing Se, to help the rest of us escape. He's either dead or captured. If he escaped alive, he'd have found us here." While it pained him to talk of his uncle he spoke with conviction and Chief Hakoda nodded slowly while still observing him thoughtfully.

"And so you are here to help us defeat the Fire Nation, your home? And destroy the Fire Lord, your father?"

"Yes." Zuko straightened as far as his spine would allow and looked Chief Hakoda dead in the eye with his most confident gaze.

"He helped me find my way back here," Katara offered in support, touching her father's arm. "I trust Zuko."

The crowd murmured thoughtfully amongst themselves at her words.

"Well, I don't!"

Zuko winced as Sokka pushed his away across the beach and he went to stand beside his father on the opposite side of Katara.

"Zuko's done nothing, but horrible things the entire time I've known him, Dad, he's just like the rest of his family!"

Chief Hakoda eyed his son with a serious frown spread across his face. "It's rare for my children to disagree so passionately on a subject, from my memory."

Katara's eyes flashed as she leaned around her father's body to glare at Sokka. Sokka wore a resolute expression of distrust and eyed Zuko up and down from where he stood across from the reunited Water Tribe family.

"Chief Hakoda," Aang's young voice rose over the crowd and, the next second, the young airbender landed with a whoosh of airbending beside Zuko. "I know it's not my place to influence anybody's decision here, but I think Zuko's intentions really are good, especially, if Katara says so! He's already given us important information about the Fire Lord and the royal palace city! And I sort of, um, already promised, he'd have his chance to prove he's on our side during the invasion." Aang rubbed the back of his neck looking slightly guilty and avoiding Sokka's eyes altogether. "I know you and Sokka planned the invasion together and I, ugh, maybe shouldn't have promised Zuko without consulting you first."

Chief Hakoda's intense blue stare now moved to Aang. "Aang," He spoke in the gently, yet firm voice of a true ruler, " _you_ are the foundation of this invasion. _You_ will be the one to face the Fire Lord today. If you trust Zuko to be with us in the invasion, I must trust the avatar's judgment, as well."

Aang bowed with respect and Chief Hakoda returned the gesture. Sokka snorted with disapproval, but he didn't dare continue to argue with his father. Katara's face broke into a victorious smile as she looked up towards Zuko. Zuko watched with bated breath as she took a step toward him and placed a warm hand on the bare skin of his forearm. She squeezed slightly in reassurance then released him, but even the simple gesture sent Zuko's heart hammering.

From over Katara's shoulder, Zuko watched the intent gaze of Chief Hakoda analyze the interaction between his daughter and the Fire Prince. The ruler of the Southern Water Tribe frowned lightly and Zuko's nerves jumped when the man's eyes returned to Zuko's face, with a new formed curiosity for the former Prince.

* * *

This chapter felt a little slow to write, but a lot of important plot advancement needed to take place. I wish Zutara could have just travelled around together forever as well but the story must continue ;) Thank you to all of my reviewers you guys gave such great support for chap 14 and thank you to all my readers as well I hope you're all enjoying the story!


	16. The Day of Black Sun

Chapter 16: The Day of Black Sun

Part 1: Katara

Katara stood on the deck of Water Tribe ship, hands gripping the railing, seething with rage at her brother. They were going into battle and he _still_ wasn't speaking to her. When he messed up his little pre invasion speech earlier that morning, Katara attempted to offer comfort and, instead, he yelled at her that it was _Zuko's presence_ that infiltrated his chi and prevented him from delivering the invasion instructions correctly. Why couldn't he just give Zuko a _chance?_

"There they are, the great Gates of Azulon," Bato announced beside her.

Katara shook herself from her internal anger and peered into the distance where the enormous golden statue of Fire Lord Azulon had been erected in his honor.

"That doesn't look like a gate?" Katara wondered out loud and many others above deck murmured in confusion as well. As soon as the words left her mouth, a great screeching sound sent ripples through the water surrounding the deck and a massive chain net emerged spread from Azulon's fingertips to the cliffs surrounding the bay.

"We'll find a way to cut through," Bato reassured the warriors around them.

Of course, just as he spoke, the weaving chains burst into flames so powerful Katara felt their heat across her face even from their distance. The buzzing of an emergency system rang clear through the air and the humming of a number of Fire Nation Guard motorboats reached their ears, as well.

"Everyone, below deck!" Chief Hakoda commanded, "Get to the subs!"

Katara made the dash down the stairs and followed Toph, Pipsqueak and the Duke through the hatchet into the sub boat designed by Sokka and the mechanist. Every Water Tribe vessel had been attached to a sub prior to entering the bay, it was there best means of disguise to approach the Fire Nation shoreline.

Working with a swamp bender, Katara maneuvered the underwater sub through the ocean while the mechanist called out directions from over his shoulder. Toph huddled in the corner between Zuko and the Duke complaining of nausea and Sokka took a seat at the head of the sub beside the mechanist and their father. Katara switched between stealing secretive glances in Zuko's direction and staring daggers at the back of her brother's head.

"Focus on your _bending_ , Sugar Queen," Toph admonished her when Katara's gaze lingered a second too long on Zuko's face. Blushing furiously and glaring at the floor, Katara wished bitterly, for once, Toph really was blind.

Zuko, to his credit, seemed focus on the event ahead. He stared, his characteristic frown settled across his face as they approached his home. Katara realized, with surprise, this would be his first time returning home in nearly four years. She felt a stab of sympathy for him and longed to comfort him, but she couldn't, they both had important jobs to do today.

Forced to come to the surface to allow oxygen to refill the subs, Katara and the swamp bender lifted the boat above the surface. Everyone was eager to catch a breather, but none as excited as Toph who climbed on top of Pipsqueak's shoulders to reach the hatchet first.

As soon as she made it above seawater to the top of the sub, Katara heard sounds of Toph retching nearby. She smirked, served her right for calling out Katara in front of _everyone_ when she was staring at Zuko. Then, she sighed, she should really help her friend.

Turning to move towards Toph a hand caught hold of her wrist. He heart jumped and she turned expecting to see Zuko (only he snuck up on her like that), but it was Aang who had grabbed her. Her heart sank with disappointment and she swallowed the feeling. Aang looked nervous, grey eyes wide with anxiety, but, also, determination.

"It's time for me to go ahead," He murmured, "I'm going to scout out the Palace city and the royal palace, just to double check no one's home. Then, I'll meet you guys outside the city parameters to pick up Toph and find the bunker."

Katara's heart beat nervously for the boy in front of her. Aang only turned thirteen weeks ago and here he was risking his life for the greater good of the world. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you can do this, Aang, I have faith in you. You're not that goofy kid from the iceberg anymore." She smiled lightly and Aang laughed and scratched the back of his neck.

"Ok, break time's over." Hakoda called from the hatchet and everyone moved to prepare to submerge.

"I'm flying Appa in," Katara called out to remind her father.

Hakoda waved in acknowledgment. "See you on the shore."

Without meaning to, Katara's eyes scanned the deck of the sub for a familiar scarred face, but found none. He must have already gone back under. Katara knew she would see him at the shoreline in an hour, but she'd wanted to say goodbye, just quickly, just in case something happened from here to there.

"Katara," Aang's voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped, surprised to see the airbender still standing in front of her. "What if I don't come back?"

Katara sighed, "Aang, don't even think like that, of course you're-"

But he cut her off when he leaned forward, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips into hers. Katara stood, shocked, while Aang kissed her. Before she could pull back he moved away, eyes looking determined and victorious.

"Good luck, Katara," And with those words he leapt into the air with the new airbending staff the mechanist built for him.

Katara stared at the ground below her feet, her mind still reeling from the kiss. She'd suspected Aang had a _crush_ on her, but, apparently, it was more serious than she thought. Guilt licked at her insides when she realized she had felt nothing the whole time their lips pressed together. Instead, her heart jumped at the memory of a different set of lips.

"Katara, it's time to submerge!" Called Bato's voice from the hatchet.

Katara realized they were waiting for her to mount Appa before they sank beneath the water again.

"Right, I'm on it," She reassured her father's second in command and, still confused and guilty, she pulled herself onto Appa's broad neck. "Yip yip!"

…

"We've got to take out those assault towers, or else we'll never make it!" Hakoda shouted over the sound of firing Fire Nation explosives and the screeching of metal on metal as Earth Kingdom centipede assault vehicles crashed into the Fire Nation's own artillery branded tanks.

Katara gasped and clutched her knees regaining her breath and taking in the battle around her. The swamp benders were maintaining their position at the rear with unhurried success, Mako decked out as his powerful waterbending swamp monster. The earthbenders, lead by Toph and Haru's father, were taking heavy fire at the flanks of the invasion with only the slim, flexible bodies of the centipede assault vehicles between them and certain death. The Water Tribe pushed forward at the arrowhead of the formation, urged onward by Hakoda's constant cries of encouragement.

Hakoda looked between Sokka and Katara, "Back me up," He ordered effortlessly, and, despite sharing a quick look of distaste with each other, Sokka and Katara fell in step behind Hakoda. Dodging explosives launched by the Fire Nation's cannon towers and plumes of flames from the firebenders themselves, Katara called into the air, "Appa! Yip Yip!"

The sky bison roared from his position in the sky and veered downward. Hakoda, Katara and Sokka grabbed a hold of his saddle and the large animal launched them all back into the sky. Katara took the reigns, directing Appa precariously close to the Fire Nation gun towers. In her mind, she thanked her impossibly annoying brother for building Appa his own set of armor.

Reaching out the side of the saddle, Sokka successfully dismantled one tower with a well-placed swing of his sword. Katara guided Appa to land at the top of the wall. The Water Tribe family dismounted and Katara and Sokka looked to their father for instructions.

"You two take out this tower, meet me in the next one." Hakoda sprinted away from them towards the farther tower while Katara and Sokka wasted no time in breaking down the door of the closer tower. The female guard inside shouted in surprise at the invaders. Katara smirked and, pulling the water from her waterskins and the air itself, she froze the guard in a large block of ice.

Sokka wasted no time in hacking the explosive machines to pieces. With a quick nod, they exited the tower. Katara risked a glance over the edge of the battle, her eyes searching, without her even thinking, for one face in particular.

"Stop wasting our time looking for _him_ ," Sokka's voice snapped with hostility.

Katara fixed her brother with a fierce glare and opened her mouth to retaliate, but an explosion from the second guard tower stole her attention.

"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed and the siblings sprinted towards the tower with alarm.

Panic tightened across Katara's chest making it difficult to run, but her legs carried her anyways. Her throat tightened and she let out a whimper of fear. She couldn't lose her dad, not today.

Relief melted across the entire insides of her body when her father's badly burned, but recognizable figure came stumbling out of the tower.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," He reassured his children just before Sokka caught him.

"Let me see his injuries," Katara commanded, pushing Sokka roughly to the side. She pulled back the badly singed remnants of Hakoda's Water Tribe armor. A long, twisted burn covered the majority of his right abdomen and, when probing it, Katara suspected broken ribs underneath.

"You're going to be ok," Katara reassured her father. "But only if you let me heal you now. Burns will worsen if you let them fester."

"How long will that take? I need to lead this mission, Katara!"

Katara set her mouth in a grim line and shook her head, "You can't fight anymore, if I'm lucky, I can get enough of you healed in under an hour to prevent any future damage."

Hakoda's face fell and he groaned, mostly, from stress and less from pain Katara determined.

"I can do it," Sokka suddenly spoke up from beside her, "Dad, I can lead this mission."

Hakoda eyed his son carefully and spoke slowly, "Sokka, one day you will be the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and you will be a great leader." He sighed, " That day, however, is not today. Today, you focus on the safety of your sister and your friends. Find Bato, give him command of the mission."

Sokka's face fell slightly with rejection. Katara felt sympathy for her older brother before she remembered she was mad at him so she glared at the ground instead of offering her comfort like she typically would. Finally he spoke, "I won't let you down, Dad."

"Good," Hakoda nodded his assent and Sokka rushed to his feet to rejoin the battle.

Katara hesitated before asking her father, "Dad, Sokka's sixteen, old enough to take charge of this mission by our tribe's standards, why didn't you let him?"

Hakoda sighed and closed his eyes. Gently he responded, "My son is a creative man and a brave warrior, but he still has a lot to learn about...maturity."

Katara couldn't help, but wonder if Sokka's attitude about Zuko played a factor in her father's decision making.

"Now, how about that healing session?" Her father urged.

Katara pulled water from the air and cloaked her hands in the blue glow. She needed to be quick and efficient, she would _not_ fail her second parent.

…

"We're at the Palace City Gates," Katara announced with pride to her father. Hakoda attempted to lift himself from the stretcher, but his daughter pushed him back down.

"Do _not_ sit up, can't you listen to one thing I say? I already brought you back to the front lines at your insistence!" Katara added a gentle smile with her firm words, truly happy with the healing progress of her father.

Finally, she spotted Toph, Sokka and Bato gathered together in a huddle. The two Water Tribe warriors carrying Hakoda placed him gently on the ground beside them.

"A cripple? At such a young age? What a shame," Bato remarked with a smirk. Hakoda attempted to punch his lieutenant in the arm from his lying position, but Bato dodged the fist easily.

The sound of a long gust of wind over their heads drew everyone's attention to the sky. A blur of orange and yellow flashed ahead before Aang landed in their midst. His eyes were set in a narrow glare and he tapped his fingers nervously against his staff surveying the group before him.

"Secret bunker it is?" Toph guessed, "I'm assuming since the eclipse hasn't even started, unless you kicked the Fire Lord's ass, piece of cake."

Katara shot the girl a look for her language, but, of course, Toph didn't see her expression.

Aang only nodded slowly, "Secret bunker," He confirmed, "But, it's weird, we knew the Fire Lord would be gone, but Zuko never mentioned the entire Palace City being evacuated?"

"The entire Palace City?" Katara repeated with confusion.

"Everyone's gone…poof." Aang added for emphasis.

Katara watched Sokka roll his hands into fists, "They knew we were coming," He hissed. Turning on Katara he asked through gritted teeth, "Where the hell is Zuko?"

"How should I know? _I_ have been _healing our dad_." She snapped in response.

"Toph? Anyone?" Sokka continued.

Toph shrugged, "Haven't seen Sparky since we got off the boat."

Sokka closed his eyes, then, unexpectedly, punched the ground with such force Katara thought he may have developed some earthbending powers.

"I _knew_ it, he _warned_ them. Soon as we got here, maybe before we even got here."

"Zuko wouldn't do that," Katara defended immediately.

"Oh, Katara, just knock it off, would you?" Sokka retaliated with venom. "I'm sorry he tricked you into his good guy act, I really am, but how else would the Fire Nation know to abandon _thousands_ of residents for a _secret_ invasion? We've been on shore maybe little more than an hour, that's not enough time to get everyone out."

"Well, then Zuko couldn't have warned them when we got here anyways," Katara snapped.

"Guys," Aang's pleading voice broke the argument, "Please, we need to make a decision here. Let's assume the Fire Nation knew we were coming, we don't know how they knew, but they knew, what do we do now?"

Sokka scratched his chin, "The Fire Lord is probably still in that secret bunker, you know, if it's real." He shot a pointed look towards Katara who ignored him.

"Chief Hakoda, do you think it's worth the risk to still go after the Fire Lord?" Aang eyed the thoughtful man on the stretcher.

"Everyone here knew they were risking their lives when they signed up for this mission, I think they'd want you to try, no matter the circumstances."

Aang nodded, seeming pleased with Hakoda's counsel, "We can still win the day. Toph, come with me."

"I'm coming too," Sokka announced, "I'll-I'll help keep you safe." He seemed to glance back towards his father, as if, for approval.

Katara felt a moment of division, should she go with Aang too? Then, she remembered her father next to her. He needed a couple more healing sessions before the beginning the eclipse to get him back on his feet. That had to be her priority.

Aang hesitated for only a moment then nodded in agreement, "Ok, let's find the Fire Lord."

…

Katara stared in utter awe at the gates of Fire Nation palace. Solid gold engraved with the fierce faces of multiple dragon guardians adorned the gates themselves and, just beyond them, Katara could make out a brass pleated pathway up to a set of humungous front doors, large enough to allow access for four komodo rhinos standing shoulder to shoulder. Upon the massive front door was a mural of some hundreds of winged dragons who seemed to dance and weave together, eyes somehow sparkling even in the distance, warning any would be invaders off, such as herself. Manicured gardens in this open front plain of the palace boasted fruit trees and flowery bushes of rarity. The sheer size of the palace reigned shadows down across said garden and the hundred invaders who stared dumbstruck in awe.

Katara had never seen a building with equal magnificence, not even the palace in Ba Sing Se, something about the gleaming shades of Fire Nation gold and red put the brown and green styled architecture of Ba Sing Se to shame. The Fire Nation palace seemed too glorious to house mere mortals, it seemed like the home of gods and spirits, beings worthy of its beauty and prowess.

 _This was Zuko's home_. Katara realized with shock. No wonder the prince acted so spoiled and snooty the first few times they encountered him. Katara wondered, just for a brief moment, what it must feel like to know you were inheriting all of _this._ The palace left no room in her mind about the wealth of a the Fire Nation and she wondered, if just this palace were so magnificent, what would be the total worth of Zuko's inheritance had he remained the Fire Lord's loyal son? Grudgingly, Katara acknowledged how difficult it must be to walk away from such a fortune.

"What now?" Bato asked Hakoda in his usual guttural voice.

"The eclipse is over, I expect we'll see some firebenders soon. And if the avatar didn't defeat the Fire Lord, we're in trouble."

As if in response to their fears, the loud growl of Appa from overhead reached their ears. Katara craned her neck to watch Aang, Toph and Sokka descend, faces set in matching grim expressions. Her heart sank and fear prickled in her stomach.

"Azula knew, she knew about everything," Sokka sighed, his eyes dark with anger and disappointment.

Chief Hakoda, now able to stand on his two feet squared his shoulders, "Did she say how she acquired such information?"

Katara sucked in a breath between her teeth, the root of her father's suspicion quite clear. For a moment, just a moment, doubt blossomed in her stomach. Could Zuko have betrayed them? Betrayed her? She trusted him so resolutely during their travels, especially, after Hama. He could have sent a raven, a quick note, right under her unassuming nose.

"She didn't say," Sokka answered slowly, casting a quick dark expression towards where Katara stood.

For a moment, she felt relief. There were other ways the knowledge of their secret invasion plan could have reached Azula's ears, right? A new series of shadows rippled across the mass of invaders drawing Katara from her thoughts and her eyes back into the sky.

Dozens of red hot air balloons filled the sky behind the castle, the gold Fire Nation insignia weaved delicately into the fabric. To Katara's horror, the display of air power didn't stop there. From behind the line of hot air ballons rose floating black airships, ten time the size of the simple balloons in front of them. The thin fabric containing the air of these massive flying ships were adorned with thick coats of what appeared to be black leather armor, no doubt, to prevent enemy fire from puncturing them and sending them back to the ground. The head of the ships spiked outward like the hull of a simple Fire Nation water ship, but instead of smooth metal below to allow easy sailing through water, were massive carvings of the face of dragons, mouths hanging open as if threatening to swallow up their adversaries.

Katara's heart hammered with true terror. How could their small invasion fleet fight _flying_ Fire Nation ships? Reaching out towards her father, she gripped the side of his arm. They exchanged desperate glances.

"We cannot stay here," Hakoda murmured, speaking lowly as if only to himself. He cleared his throat and spoke louder with more assurance, "We cannot stay here, back to the subs!"

"They've got air power now, but so do I," Aang announced grabbing his glider tightly.

"I can help too, let's try to slow them down." Katara responded rushing to climb aboard Appa.

She and Appa ascended towards the sky following behind the small twirling figure of Aang. Katara with her waterbending and Aang using his airbending surrounded one of the hot air balloons. Katara watched Aang's back using her water whips to block any firebending attacks while Aang landed inside the hot air balloon basket and disabled the machine. Katara watched Aang spring back into the air from the edge of air balloon basket and one of dozens of balloons twisted and deflated towards the surface of the land.

"Aang!" She shouted across the sounds of rushing air and explosives colliding with the ground. "We can't take them all down!"

She looked over the small figures of her retreating friends and family. They were the size of insects from her height, moving ever so slowly compared to the speed of the airships she flew beside. _They're not going to make it_.

Just as the terrifying thought crossed her mind, the first line of air balloons let out a rocketing assault of explosives aimed at the subs docked on the bay's shore. Katara watched helplessly from the air as the invaders' one hope of escape erupted into flames below her.

Pointing towards where she spotted the unmistakable gaits of Toph, Sokka and her father, Katara yelled towards Aang again. "Head down there!"

Her heart pounding with adrenaline and the wind rushing by her ears, Katara guided Appa back into the heart of the invasion's retreating back. They landed heavily on the ground and her family and friends rushed to surround her and Aang.

"They've destroyed the subs," she spoke facing her father, fighting the emotions sticking in her throat. "We can't get out."

"Then we stand and fight," Sokka interjected narrowing his eyes determinedly. "We have the avatar, we can still win this fight."

Chief Hakoda frowned at his feet, thoughts churning in his mind. Everyone watched him and waited with bated breath to hear his final decision.

"With the avatar we can win on another day." Chief Hakoda finally spoke and straightened up. He placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "You and Aang take the youngest among us to escape on Appa. The adults will stay and surrender. We will take the loss today and live to fight another day."

"No," Sokka whispered, "I won't leave you again."

Katara's heart pounded more forcefully than before, growing desperate as she looked around for a certain firebender.

"Toph, where's Zuko?" She asked, her voice on edge.

"I saw him," Said Haru, "Back in the Palace City, he fought off some Fire Guards and stole a kimodo rhino. Rode off fast like a madman."

Katara's heart beat high up in her throat, "Well, where is he _now_ we have to get out of here."

Hakoda's voice broke through the air, but not Katara's panic. "All warriors nineteen years or younger, aboard Appa."

"Dad, no!" Sokka continued to protest, "They'll take you all to prison, or worse, kill you for your role in the invasion!"

Hakoda eyed his son calmly, gripping Sokka's shoulders with both of his hands, "We're valuable, we know too much about the Avatar to be executed right away. Sokka, I am trusting you to protect your sister, protect the avatar. The fate of the world rests with you."

Katara's ears only picked up bits and pieces of the profound conversation between her brother and father. Her heart picked up in speed as seconds passed. The thundering and crashing of Fire Nation explosives continued to permeate the air. "Toph, do you feel Zuko anywhere near us? We need to find him!"

Toph frowned in concentration and crouched on the ground. With her palm flat on the ground, Katara watched with apprehension as Toph searched for Zuko's figure using her earthbending. "I'm sorry, Katara."

Katara breathed heavily in and out. Had Zuko been hurt? Killed even? An even worse thought creeped through her mind. Did he betray her again? The look on the faces of her companions seemed to confirm her worst fears, but, no she refused to believe it.

Aang caught her eye nervously, "Look, Katara, we don't know where Zuko is, but we can't risk the lives of everyone here for one person who may…"

"May what? Zuko's on our side! He's on our side and he helped with this invasion and what kind of allies are we to leave him behind!" Katara didn't mean to scream right into his face, but the words escaped with violence from her mouth.

Aang stared at her with huge grey eyes, mouth agape. It took only a few seconds for guilt to kick into her stomach. Still, she couldn't bring herself to apologize in her emotional frenzy, instead, she spun in place, her eyes searching for a scarred face. Aang, Sokka, Haru, Pipsqueak, The Duke, and, even, her father watched her with apparent concern.

"Someone ratted us out to Azula, Katara,"Sokka's voice was surprisingly soft, as if soothing an angry armadillo lion.

Katara set him with a fiery glare and opened her mouth to protest, but Sokka cut her off quickly, "Look, I'm not saying it was definitely Zuko! But there's a possibility. We can't stay here and endanger our friends for a maybe traitor."

Tears prickled in Katara's eyes. A scarred face and golden eyes flashed in her mind. She remembered how hot, calloused hands felt on her waist and how soft, pale lips felt against her own. Her heart throbbed with despair. It hurt for the possible betrayal she refused to believe, it ached for her own hopeless affection towards the firebender and it grieved for her morality crying for her not to leave a friend behind in the deadly Fire Nation capital.

To her utter surprise, her brother wrapped strong, brown arms around her, pressing to him briefly and lending his comfort. "Come on, magic water girl, we _need_ to get everyone to safety."

Katara sucked a fierce breath into her lungs, attempting to fight the growing hysteria inside her. "Ok." With her agreement, the youngest began to claw their way up Appa clutching handfuls of white fur as they went. Aang used airbending to lift Teo, wheelchair and all, into Appa's saddle.

Sokka and Katara were the last with feet on the ground. Hakoda swept them both under each arm bringing the three of them close together. Katara stared at her father mournfully. How cruel to be reunited with her family to only be torn apart hours later. Staring at her father's wrinkled face, she committed every line to memory, just in case it would be her last of him.

"Be brave, my children. May Tui and La protect and guide you. I love you always."

Katara's heart tugged a million directions in her chest as Sokka guided her to Appa's side. She cast her eyes at the scene of devastation around her. A number of fires scattered from the city down to the bay, sending twirling towers of black smoke towards the sky. The scent of burning buildings and foliage nearly choked her throat. The dead and injured remained dispersed throughout the battleground, perhaps, never to be returned to their families.

Biting her bottom lip so hard she drew blood, Katara desperately searched, one last time for a specific young man. Unsuccessful, she turned to climb aboard Appa, her heart sitting heavy in her chest and, finally, when they took to the air, she allowed the tears she held at bay to slide down her face.

…

Part 2: Zuko (2 hours earlier)

 _Never forget who you are._

Zuko clutched his hands into fists at his sides, shaking his head, attempting to drive the image of his mother's face from his mind. His struggled remembering his mother's smile and soft comforting hands enveloping him into warm, comforting hugs to soothe the damage left by Ozai's temper and disappointment with his eldest son.

 _Everything I've done, I've done to protect you._

The young firebender gritted his teeth and tried to focus on something, anything in the air tight sub to distract him from his memories. Apparently, the rapidly approaching reunion with his home country was enough to drill cracks into his perfectly guarded most painful memories. He cast desperate eyes across the back of Sokka and the mechanist's heads, he looked sideways at the seasick earthbender beside him who held her fingers over her eyes and groaned, and, finally, he looked to his right at the waterbender who propelled the sub along underwater with precise swings of her arms. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the eerie underwater light, her lips turned more purple than pink and her hair darkened, nearly appearing black like his own.

Of course, only Katara could drive the frightful memories of his last moments with his mother from his mind. Feeling like a ten year old kid again, Zuko glared fiercely ahead of him. He didn't need distractions, he needed focus, if he hoped to carry out the hazily constructed plan in his head.

"We'll need to head above water one last time," He heard the mechanist's voice directed at Sokka and Chief Hakoda, "To refill for enough oxygen to reach Fire Nation shores."

Katara changed the pattern of her bending and Zuko felt the underwater boat jolt beneath him as they ascended towards the surface. Zuko followed a sickly Toph out the hatchet, feeling a bit queasy in the stomach himself. He felt the cool, sea breeze kiss across his good cheek and he spun in a slow circle taking in the endless horizons of blue surrounding them. The Palace City was only a short, black coastline too far off for any defining characteristics to come into view. _Almost home._

 _Home?_ Zuko's breathing stuttered as his brain tripped over the word. Could he even consider the Palace City his home anymore? He'd been a child when he left, a different person. Really, he spent more defining years of his life on his ship with his uncle and crew. His throat tightened at the memory of the tea loving old man and his internal fire flared. Would his uncle be happy with his plan? Or disappointed Zuko disobeyed Chief Hakoda's orders?

Zuko nervously ran a hand through his hair. Subconsciously, his eyes roamed the deck for a familiar young woman. He located her across the deck speaking softly with the avatar. Zuko was too far to read their lips to determine the contents of their conversation.

"Ok, break time's over," Chief Hakoda's words rang over the small group. Everybody moved together to pile back into the underwater sub. Zuko lingered at the back of the line, waiting for Katara before remembering she was flying Appa into shore. He sighed, so he would have no opportunity to say goodbye before the battle commenced. He landed lightly on the metal floor of the sub in time to hear Toph's annoyed growl, "Katara's still up there with Aang, someone tell them to get a move on."

Closest to the hatchet, Zuko eagerly re-ascended the ladder, hopeful for an opportunity to say goodbye after all. His mind ran with how to approach her. _Be safe, Katara, if you get hurt I'll- I'll kill every firebender in the Palace City._ No, too dark. _Please, be safe, Katara, I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you because I care about you and-_ No, too emotionally revealing. But maybe, for once, he should take a risk, expose himself, tell Katara the truth how he thought about her nearly every moment of every day, how he wanted to hold her and kiss her, spend an eternity of time with her…With an internal groan, Zuko over the edge of the hatchet, still unsure how to best approach Katara. No amount of self-preparation would have helped for the site that greeted him on the sub's deck. From his angle, Zuko nearly doubted his own eyes, but a couple more seconds of observation made it indisputable. Katara stood locked mouth to mouth with the avatar, like the kissing sort of mouth to mouth.

Zuko's stomach dropped into his toes and his throat constricted nearly choking the air from his lungs. Quickly and without much grace, he slammed the hatchet shut again and ducked back inside the sub, breathing hard.

"Well?" Asked Toph, still irked.

"She's busy," Zuko responded, unable to keep the sour tone from his voice.

Bato, Chief Hakoda's second in command, rolled his eyes towards the surly Fire Nation prince and replaced Zuko to climb the ladder. Zuko half hoped he caught Katara and the avatar in their compromising position. Then, maybe, Chief Hakoda would send his unnerving, analytic stares in Aang's direction instead of Zuko's.

He slumped onto the floor of the sub, crossing his arms tightly in front of his chest. He struggled to contain the rage burning at his core, sending heat across his arms and into his palms. Zuko pressed them even more tightly against his ribcage, willing no flames to escape from his body in his rage.

The envy pooled in the back of his throat and an acidic taste burned in his mouth. All those times Katara denied her relationship with the avatar. Zuko suspected, back when he first started chasing the group, but he allowed a pretty girl's bat of the eyelashes trick him into believing her lies. Of course, Katara would end up with the avatar, Zuko knew that before he even knew Katara. That's how this story was supposed to end, the good girl ends up with the good boy. And where did that leave Zuko? Alone, possibly dead by his own family's hand.

But Katara _never_ spoke or acted with any sort of romantic interest in Aang. She even referred to him as a "kid" on a couple occasions. Frustratingly, Zuko ground his teeth together and a short steam of smoke escaped from his nostrils.

"You ok, Sparky? You seem a little…heated." The earthbender continued to stare straight ahead when she addressed Zuko.

"I'm fine," Zuko grated, hoping his tone discouraged her from continuing the conversation.

"Whatever," Toph merely shrugged her shoulders and buried her face back in her hands with a second onset of sea sick induced moans.

…

"Down, down!" Zuko's muscles screamed in protest as he launched his body into the hot sand for the fifth time in five minutes. The high pitched scream of fire bombs launched from the Fire Nation artillery tanks whistled by his ear and one of their own subs went up in flames with the impact.

Zuko nearly shouted in frustration, he needed to initiate the first phase of his personal plan for the day, but his honor wouldn't allow him to abandon the swamp benders when they faced such heavy pressure from the Fire Nation military defense.

His heart pounding and body electrified with adrenaline, he pushed himself back onto his feet, brandishing his dual swords. Moving swiftly, Zuko sprinted head on towards the closest tank. With the comfortable weight of his swords in hands, and internal fire blazing with lingering rage over Katara and Aang's kiss, Zuko felt more than capable of taking on a tank alone.

Zuko promptly approached and, nimbly using the skills of the Blue Spirit, he climbed up the side of the tank and, in one fluid motion, unleashed a powerful burst of fire over the top hatchet and drove his sword straight through the now malleable metal surface. He heard the alarmed shouts of soldiers within the machine and pulled out his sword at an angle to whip the hatchet open. Not wasting a breath, he stuck his fist inside the small compartment and pulled one the firebenders out by their hair.

The soldier attempted to shoot a fireball from their fist into Zuko's face, but Zuko caught their palm and snuffed their fire. Using the hilt of his sword, he drove the solid material into the back of the soldier's skull knocking him unconscious. The second soldier attempted to flee the scene, leaping out of the tank and falling sideways into the sand, clearly alarmed to see a firebender among the invasion forces. Zuko rolled off the side of the tank and caught the man by a wayward flap of fabric. He repeated the same action with his sword as with the first soldier.

From behind him, the swamp bender in charge, Mako, emerged from the water covered in knotted piles of seaweed. Zuko watched the swampbender manipulate the water dense plants to create a waterbending ocean monster and he attacked tank after tank using the heavy weight of the plants to easily dismantle a number of them in just a minute. Feeling more confident in the abilities of the swamp waterbenders, Zuko took off at a sprint across the beach. At first, he trailed behind the front lines of the invasion, keeping his head down and dodging fireballs. At last, he reached the well-remembered break at the right hand of the cliff. It wasn't large or trusty enough for the entire invasion force to fit through, hence, why Zuko neglected to share it with Sokka or Chief Hakoda, but for one firebender it would do perfectly.

Zuko veered sharply off the course of the invasion. For a moment, he glared at the thin break in the cliff, he remembered it to be larger. Of course, he and Azula used this "secret path" from the Palace City to the beach whenever feeling particularly rebellious. The last time they escaped the city together Zuko figured he'd been about ten years old.

 _"Zuzu, I bet my dancing dragons bayonet I can hold my breath way longer than you!"_

 _"HA! Not a chance, Zula, my lungs are bigger than yours!"_

Zuko swallowed the uncomfortable memory of his younger sister and pushed his shoulders through the opening in the cliff.

…

Entering the Palace City and, subsequently, the Palace proved much simpler than Zuko anticipated. For some bizarre reason, the city was completely desolate and he encountered not one other person during his journey. Zuko had never used the servant's entrance before, but he knew where it would be located. So, his first moments in his ex-home were spent wandering through the horrendously large palace kitchens, attempting to locate the correct entrance to the Grand Hall.

Shaking his head at the number of salt freezers in the kitchen alone, Zuko finally walked into familiar territory. For a moment, his entire body froze, as if trapped in one of Katara's ice boxes. His eyes surveyed the familiar room around him, adorned with cathedral style ceilings and large portraits of Fire Lords' past . An ornate, thick red carpet ran the length of the room supporting a long, pine wood table, specially crafted to host a hundred elite guests.

Zuko walked, slowly, to the head of the table, to stand beside an elaborately decorated chair adorned by a solid gold orb headpiece which glistened from the light of the large oval windows running the length of the hall giving the illusion a small replicate sun glittering directly above the diner's head. Really, it resembled a small throne more so than a dinner chair and was reserved only for the active Fire Lord. Gazing down at the opposite end, Zuko realized the Fire Lord would never be able to see the face of his wife sitting at the opposite head seat from such a distance. Gripping the armrest of the throne tightly, Zuko glared at the plush, red carpet and doubted Ozai would have cared to see Ursa's face clearly, even if she hadn't disappeared the night before his coronation.

"What happened to you?" Zuko whispered out loud. Then he shouted in frustration and unleashed a fast, hot whip of fire scorching a thick, black line into the otherwise immaculate carpet.

Zuko's throat closed in on itself and his old childhood anxiety crept up into his chest. He sprinted towards the double cedar doors, delicately carved with a massive Fire Nation insignia, and fled the room.

Zuko didn't stop running even when his lungs burned for air, even when his legs screamed for a brief rest. He took six flights of marble stairs two at a time. His aching body and frantic state of mind didn't matter, he could have run this familiar path in his sleep. Finally, he stood face to face with his target doorway. He sucked in a deep breath and placed his hands palms up against the familiar dark chestnut wood. Briefly, he closed his eyes, then, he gripped the handle and flung the door open.

He partly expected to see his old bedroom empty and bare or, maybe, the remnants of his furniture burned to ash. However, the room appeared strangely peaceful, like not a soul entered it since the day of his banishment. Slowly, Zuko passed the foyer and paced around his massive, four poster bed. The sheets remained untucked from the day he flung them aside, eager for the Agni Ki he did not yet realize would ruin his life. Apparently, someone told the servants not to bother with cleaning his room that day. Dust settled across the large dresser and dulled the vibrant red of his Fire Nation tapestry. Zuko passed the door to his private bath and looked out foggy windows to the small outcrop of his balcony.

Running his hands through his hair, he fought the anxiety still coursing through his veins and approached his bedside table. Warily, he pulled the top drawer open and his heart stopped at the sight of her face. His memory hadn't done Ursa justice. He pulled the detailed, ink portrait of his mother out into the open of the room and laid it across the covers of his bed.

"What did he do to you?" Zuko murmured. Ursa's face uncannily resembled Azula's now that his sister was nearly a full adult. Zuko felt a brief stab of guilt remembering how his mother loved Azula, despite her sinister tendencies. Would she be disappointed he betrayed his sister in Ba Sing Se? The thought upset Zuko too much to dwell on and he rolled up his mother's image and tucked it inside the pocket of his robe.

For a moment, he stood still, taking in the silence around him. He couldn't hear the battle from here, or, maybe, the palace just had excellent sound proof technology. He was tempted, just for a moment, to lay in his large, luxurious bed, to allow himself to wallow in the loss of his mother, at the site of where she last parted from him. But he was quite certain his mother would be disappointed in her son for choosing to hide in his childhood bedroom while a war raged around him.

Still swallowing the anxiety his palace home induced in him, Zuko exited his bedroom, even whispering, "Goodbye", into the empty space behind him. He took to the hallways in a light jog and his mind struggled with the next part of his plan. He still had approximately twenty minutes before the eclipse began. Plenty of time to get to the prison. But, also, plenty of time to reach the bunkers and help the Avatar.

Zuko groaned out loud and threw his hands into the air in frustration. Go to the prison? Go to the avatar? Aang didn't even _want_ his help, he told Zuko specifically not assist him in defeating Ozai. But, since when did Zuko take orders from the avatar?

His mind still convulsing with indecision, he failed to notice the pinpoint, ultra sharp dagger which flew through the air and caught him in the sleeve of his robe. The force behind the small knife forced Zuko to spin and nearly lose balance. The next couple daggers flew through the air faster than the blink of an eye and embedded themselves along Zuko's sleeve pinning him into the thick tapestry hung on the hallway wall.

Zuko's heart thudded nervously in his chest. Only one woman alive could toss daggers around with such precision.

"Zuko!" An especially cheery voice floated down the hall. Zuko watched the acrobatic form of Ty Lee as she cartwheeled up to a halt inches from his face.

"Azula thought you may come here! She said you're…what's the word? Sentimental!"

Zuko glared at Ty Lee's broad grin, furious for allowing the brief drop in his guard. He squared his jaw and prepped for a fight when another voice greeted him.

"And I thought this entire eclipse business would be _boring_." The sighing, melancholy Mai sauntered into his line of vision.

Despite himself, a blush crept into his cheeks. He remembered, years ago, the feel of those frowning, pink lips against his own and pale skin under his fingertips. They'd been betrothed, after all, and he suspected Mai viewed him romantically even back then. Now, however, he feared less her girly advances and more her legitimately stabbing a knife through his heart.

Mai docked an eyebrow as she took her time sizing him up. Finally, the hint of a smile crossed her mouth. "We're supposed to hold you hostage until Azula returns from the bunkers, but now that I'm seeing you…holding you for another hour does seem dreadfully…tedious."

"Azula's in the bunkers?" Zuko spit the question out, nerves getting the better of him.

Mai studied her fingernails before responding, "Yes, something to do with distracting the Avatar, keeping him away from the Fire Lord, possibly killing him and his friends herself when the firebending turns back on. You know, typical Azula fun."

Zuko groaned out loud and threw his head back to stare at the arched ceilings. He could feel his frustrations heating his inner flame. Could he take Mai and Ty Lee on by himself? He still had his firebending and they were two non-benders though skilled in combat in their own right.

Ty Lee breathed directly into his ear, "I think he's considering fighting us, Mai!" She giggled at the end, annoying Zuko and he emulated a low growl at her close proximity.

Mai's eyes flickered with a rare emotion for her; amusement. She, too, approached Zuko, moving so their faces stood mere inches apart. "What a rash decision that would be," She murmured carelessly.

Abruptly, she pulled away from him and yawned. "I think, Ty Lee, I am suddenly very hungry for a fruit tart."

Ty Lee's large eyes darted between Mai and Zuko as realization dawned across her face. "We're gonna let him _go_! Mai, Azula will be so mad!"

Mai shrugged nonchalantly, "What Azula doesn't know won't hurt her." She yawned again and began to saunter in the general direction of the kitchen.

Surprisingly, Ty Lee's face erupted into a large grin. "Yay, we're letting Zuko go! You know, I don't know why we became better friends with Azula? When we were kids, Zuko always treated us much nicer."

The edge of Mai's lips curled into a smile and she cast a final glance over her shoulder to where Zuko still stood pinned against the tapestry. She smirked, "You would have made a good husband."

Zuko watched their retreating backs, his mouth slightly agape. Excitement quickly replaced his shock and he pulled the knives sticking through his clothes out of the tapestry to free himself from the wall. Shaking his head, he mulled over the new information about Azula. Really, it didn't leave much room for more debate. He needed to get to the bunkers, he needed to warn the avatar and his friends about Azula. He figured, somehow, his vindictive sister _knew_ about the invasion, maybe, since Ba Sing Se.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," He muttered under his breath.

…

Zuko figured they renovated, at least, some of the secret passageways headed into the underground bunker so was pleasantly surprised when the familiar path lead him directly to his goal destination, the Fire Lord's private royal accomodations. He paced outside the unassuming door for a good few minutes, waiting for the effects of the eclipse to take place. At last, he felt the cold dimming of his internal flame. A shiver ran down his back and he palmed the hilts of his swords at his back. He was still a warrior, even without his bending.

His heart hammered in his throat and his arms shook slightly. Would it be Azula or his father to greet him on the other side of this door? And where was the avatar? But, it was too late to turn back now. He kicked the door in and it flung open in front of him.

And there Fire Lord Ozai sat, upon a light red pedestal, sipping a cup of steaming tea. A line of guards, trained in swordsmanship rather than firebending, saluted at the ready and drew their weapons simultaneously at the invader. Zuko watched his father, eyes narrowed, waiting for the man to look at him.

Fire Lord Ozai didn't even glance up before speaking, "Prince Zuko, my son, I hoped we would spend some time together today." He waved his hands, absentmindedly, and the line of guards loyally trooped out of the room leaving nothing between Fire Lord Ozai and his firstborn.

Zuko held his breath and, at last, Ozai lifted narrow amber eyes to study his son over his cup of tea. "You've grown, you look like a true warrior now." Ozai opened his arms as if welcoming his wayward son into an embrace. His voice danced somewhere between mockery and true pride. As usual, he confused Zuko with his dual personalities. He felt, under his burning yellow stare, like a thirteen year old kid again, not the seventeen year old man he'd grown to be.

"No thanks to you," He hissed back, barely containing his own anxiety and anger beneath the surface of his voice.

Fire Lord Ozai further narrowed his eyes and, slowly, rose to his feet. Up on his royal pedestal, he still towered over Zuko, but the Prince suspected they were now practically the same height. His father's face had not changed over the course of the past three and half years, save a few new wrinkled lines in his forehead, but the familiar face failed to intimidate Zuko with quite the ease it used to.

"Was suffering not your teacher?" Asked Ozai with all the innocence of a caring father. His yellow eyes flickered over the large scar he inflicted years ago onto his son's face. Subconsciously, Zuko reached up to touch the scar himself. The corner of Ozai's mouth twisted into a sly grin, "I half expected you to burst into this room with that foolish, little avatar in tow. I must express my pleasure this is not the case." He cocked his head to the side as he continued to study his son, "So, you've come to regret your decision in Ba Sing Se? You are here to beg your father's forgiveness? Well, I'm listening."

Zuko continued to stare at Fire Lord Ozai, his chest heaving with deep breaths and his palms becoming slippery on the hilts of his swords. "Beg for your forgiveness?" His voice nearly cracked on the words. He shook his head passionately, "You challenged me, a _child, your child_ to Agni Ki! How can you possibly justify a duel with a child? You banished me took away my pride, my home, my mother-" Zuko's words died in his mouth at the mention of Ursa. He narrowed his eyes fiercely at his father. "All I wanted was your love," He hissed with venom at the man who sired him. "Your acceptance, you to look at me the way you looked at Azula."

Fire Lord Ozai's smirk widened and a short chuckle escaped from his lips. "You're a warrior _and_ you've grown a backbone! I did right by you, my son." Then, the smile faded from his lips and apparent sadness fell over his face like a shadow. He shook his head slowly, "Perhaps, perhaps, I was a bit tough on you. But my own father, Azulon, he was tough on me growing up, too, I've got my own scars to prove it! It made me the man and the leader I am today. I wanted the same for you, Zuko, but you were so soft, so weak, too much of your mother in you, I needed to do something to make a real impression on you, to teach you to be a man. And look at my success!" He waved his hand in the air loosely indicating to Zuko's scar.

"You taught me _nothing_ ," Zuko hissed, "About being a man. I learned everything from Uncle. He's the one who taught me, he showed me how to be a man who's nothing like you."

Fire Lord Ozai sneered down at him, "That tea loving, foolish old bimbo has got you, huh? Iroh boasts a legacy of embarrassment and failure, apparently, something you wish to follow suit with. If you are not here to humble yourself before your _lord_ than these defiant words will be your last."

Zuko's father took a threatening few steps down from his pedestal, his eyes glaring with a new, powerful rage into his own son's similar amber eyes. Zuko whipped his dual swords out in front of him, pointing both tips aimed at the center of his father's chest.

"You won't hurt me," the Fire Lord's voice adopted a new, malevolent tone, "You don't have the guts. I could tell, even when you were a child, you would never be a master firebender, never be a worthy leader of our country."

"How could you have judged me, in childhood, to determine all these failures? I never had a chance, did I?" Zuko warily watched his father whose anger seemed to rise as each second passed between them, only risking one nervous glance over his shoulder at the secured metal door. Where _was_ the avatar?

"I gave you a million chances, Prince Zuko! I tried everything within my power as your father to create something beneficial of your existence!" If the eclipse was not in full swing, Zuko didn't doubt there would be smoke leaking from his father's nostrils.

"I am your _son_ ," Zuko gasped, his hands now shaking with nerves and anger, "I shouldn't have needed to justify my _existence_ to you!"

"You are no son of mine," Fire Lord Ozai snarled and pointed a finger at his face, "I've revoked your birthright, your inheritance, your honor and, if I could, I would revoke my own blood from your veins."

Zuko fought the wave of nausea rising in his stomach. All the years of Ozai's mistreatment rushed to the forefront of his mind. _Lucky to be born…_ Ozai's hand coming to slap him across the face after Azula successfully created a flame before her older brother… _pathetic, weak…_ Ursa holding him tight against her chest whispering comforts… _a sorry excuse for firebending_ …Ozai holding his small hands over the open flame of their family fireplace, the tears falling from Zuko's face when ugly, pink welts began to spread across his palms… _incompetent, foolish, sensitive_ …

Zuko roared with rage and, without conscious thought, lunged for his father swinging his dual swords like a maniac. Fire Lord Ozai side stepped his son's attack and growled low in his throat. "You attack now when, maybe, four years ago you could have saved your honor had you put up a fight then."

Zuko felt years of compressed emotions now released, tangling inside his chest. He swung at his father again, but in his current state, his moves were sloppy. Fire Lord Ozai easily avoided the second advance. Slightly bent over and breathing heavily, Zuko watched his father with frenzied eyes. With each inhalation of breath, his shoulders shook violently as he attempted to contain the years of memories and anger threatening to drown him in the moment.

 _Never forget who you are._ His mother's voice seemed to call to him, delicate and strong, as was her way. The image of her face burned in his mind and his hand clutched at his chest where her ink image sat folded and safe within his robe. Heaving another weighted breath, Zuko straightened his back. He guessed there was a mere minute left in the eclipse. The avatar wasn't going to make it in time and, unless Zuko wanted to end up a corpse, he needed to get away from his father.

He tucked his swords in their sheaths on his back and cleared his throat. "I never lost my honor, father, you can't take that away from someone." Forcing his face to smooth into an expression of calm, Zuko nodded at Fire Lord Ozai.

Ozai grit his teeth and clutched his hands into fists at his sides. "Don't you dare, don't you dare walk away from me."

But Zuko's legs carried him swiftly back the way he entered. With his hand on the door he closed his eyes and sighed, lightly, allowing himself only a second of mourning.

"The eclipse is nearly finished, turn around and face me like a true man! NO ONE WALKS AWAY FROM ME!"

"Goodbye," Zuko murmured, and, this time, the calm wasn't too difficult to muster.

"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother!"

Fire Lord Ozai's outburst was not a question. Zuko froze, his hand hovering over the door handle. Clutching the hidden painting of his mother's face, Zuko asked, voice barely above a whisper, "Did you kill her?"

Ozai's smirk was back and a maniacal gleam emerged in his eyes. "Kill my own wife? You do think very little me." Looking confident, Fire Lord Ozai, once again, approached his son, stopping to maintain a few feet of distance between them. Zuko only half turned, standing with one foot in the doorway and the scarred side of his face on display for Ozai's scrutinizing gaze.

"You stand here and accuse me of great cruelty towards you? Act like you deserve my pity, my apologies, yet, I sacrificed one of the greatest joys of my life for you, my only son."

"What happened that night when my mother disappeared? _Did you kill her_?" Zuko repeated his question, panic beginning to creep up his throat, like a vile acid. And just when he'd gotten his emotions under control.

Fire Lord Ozai smirked and tugged lightly at his long, black goatee, "That night, Fire Lord Azulon commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And, I was going to do it. But your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared. Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them and, for her treason, she was banished."

"So she's alive," Zuko attempted to fight the tears welling in his eyes, but between the savage confrontation with his father and the astonishing news Ursa had not been murdered by Ozai, as Zuko had come to suspect, the emotions spilled over.

"But now I understand banishment to be far too merciful a punishment for treachery."

Too late, Zuko realized the passage of time. Too late he recognized the flare in his internal flame. Too late, he watched his father summon lightening between his hands. Moving more on instinct than training, Zuko stretched his hands towards his father's strike, reaching his fingertips into the lightening. He felt the electricity move through him like a violent river through a canyon. He moved without consciousness, guiding the lightening safely around his heart into his stomach and back out the opposite arm. The blast of energy exploded against the rock and metal ceiling rendering a large portion of the bunker into smoking rubble.

Fire Lord Ozai, having thrown his arms over his head to block any falling debris, missed the moment when his son made a speedy and successful escape. The patter of his troops' feet as they marched back into the room were the first sounds to greet him following the lightening explosion. Slowly and deliberately, he straightened out on his knees, staring at the empty spot where Prince Zuko stood only seconds prior.

The guards watched in frightened silence while their Lord stared, eyes wide and face unmoving, as if possessed by the deserted space in the doorway.

The Head Guard moved forward hesitantly, "My Lord?" He inquired, cautiously.

The Fire Lord seemed to snap out of his reverie at the sound of his voice. A menacing darkness crossed over the man's face and a rage lit yellow eyes of the likes the guards never witnessed before. And, then, a roar of rage escaped from the Fire Lord's mouth followed by a tidal wave of orange, blue and red flames which engulfed the entire room, tearing each Fire Nation insignia tapestry to shreds, melting large portions of the metal framework and burning all, but a couple guards into crisp, blackened corpses.

…

Zuko moved through the chaos of the city, hardly hearing the new onslaught of explosions by the war balloons flying overhead. In his mind, on replay, were two words: _She's alive, she's alive, she's alive._ He needed more information, more answers. And only one man Zuko trusted with his questions.

With the firebending back on, units of Palace Guards aboard kimodo rhinos advanced into the city, helping to encourage the retreat of the invading forces. Zuko observed the nearest line of kimodo rhinos scuff the earth with their feet and toss their intimidating horns out in front of them. Well, he did need a faster mode of transportation.

"Zuko!" A voice broke through his pensive thought process. He spotted the earthbending boy Katara hugged so affectionately some yards away, waving his arm in the air. "They've called a full retreat! We have to get back to the subs!"

Zuko gave a near imperceptible shake of his head. He turned his back on the earthbender and refocused on the kimodo rhinos. He knew how this would look to the others, he knew the earthbender would tell Katara, but Zuko _needed_ to get to the prison. They would not have another opportunity to invade the Palace City in the near future, of that Zuko was certain.

"I'm sorry, Katara," He whispered at the sky and then he charged the line of Palace Guards. Moving quickly, he dismantled a smaller bodied guard from the back of the rhino and pulled the beast's reins in his desired direction. The kimodo rhino covered the distance in a matter of ten minutes whereas Zuko on foot would have taken half an hour.

He stared at the tall, black construction, built directly into the cliffside of the volcano. The very sight of the prison gave Zuko goosebumps on the back of his arms. He wondered how his Uncle fared all these weeks. He took the stairs at a sprint, knocking any guard who got in his way in the back of the head with the pommel of his sword. There were surprisingly few on duty. Zuko knew they held the most important prisoners on the very upper level, but he still needed to run the full circle of the floor screaming his uncle's name as he ran.

He stuttered to a halt in front a large cell with iron bars bent outward as if some enormous animal rammed its way out from the inside. A guard sat just outside the busted cell, holding his bleeding skull between two hands. Not caring for the man's injuries one bit, Zuko launched himself at the man and lifted him by the cuff of his gneck off the ground.

"The Dragon of the West, he's a prisoner here, where is he?" He demanded. The guard blinked blood out of his eyes then pointed a shaking finger at the decimated cell beside them.

"He's gone, he busted himself out. I've never seen anything like it, he was like a one man army!" The man's voice quivered with fear and Zuko recognized the truth in his fear.

He released the man and allowed him to slump back to the ground. "He left something in the cell, maybe, for you." The man whimpered from the floor.

Zuko frowned and, tentatively, entered the cell, his eyes scanning the gray floor. They located a folded piece of yellow parchment. Gently, Zuko knelt on the ground and unfolded the paper. Out fell a single pai sho tile, the White Lotus, his uncle's favorite playing piece. Zuko frowned, why would his uncle leave him a worthless tile? He remembered the White Lotus old men's club they came across in the desert before fleeing to Ba Sing Se, but it still didn't make any sense.

Zuko shook his head and wiped the stray pieces of hair from his eyes. Uncle Iroh had left him a letter, as well.

 _Zuko,_

 _If you are reading this than my predictions for the invasion were true. I feared the worst for the invasion today. I feared you did not reach the avatar in time to instruct him and for him to truly master firebending. You see, before the young avatar can achieve balance for our world and defeat my brother, he must first achieve balance of the four elements inside himself. But, do not despair, Nephew, there is hope yet for the world. I know you may have wished for me to join you today, but destiny calls me in another direction. You must continue to train the avatar in the ways of fire. To help, I offer this humble advice, do visit the ancient Sun Warriors Temple in the West. We learn best for our future by looking into our past. And, Nephew, do enjoy a cup of ginseng tea on my behalf, it is calming for the spirit._

 _Yours truly and with love,_

 _Uncle Iroh_

Zuko sighed, well that certainly sounded like his uncle. Take the avatar for a history lesson and drink some tea? Typical advice from the crazy, old man. Zuko remained kneeling on the floor of the cell a few minutes longer. The enormous sounds of explosions at the beach shook the ground all the way up to the prison. Zuko figured the airships had destroyed the subs. He swallowed thickly and hoped Katara was safe. Hopefully, the avatar at least evaded Azula and he was currently fleeing on Appa with his friends in toe. The gang certainly had a knack for escape, something Zuko experienced firsthand many times before.

Zuko groaned and rubbed his forehead. How would he get back to the group now? A small chirp and the flash of white and black fur drew his attention. The lemur creature- what was its spiritsforsaken name- Momo peered at him with huge, green eyes. Zuko blinked slowly at the small animal and shook his head with distaste. "You shouldn't have followed me here. You should have escaped on your buddy the flying bison."

Momo chirped again and climbed up Zuko's arm to rest perched on his shoulder. The creature's tail flicked back and forth as it waited expectantly for Zuko to move.

"Damnit, I don't know how we'll ever catch up to them! You don't know any more flying bisons, do you?"

Momo just chattered senselessly in his ears and shoved his nose into Uncle Iroh's note, sniffing the parchment.

"Yah, Uncle would know what to do," Zuko responded in a tone of agreement. Feeling quite forlorn, Zuko took his time leaving the prison. He scanned the horizons and watched the glittering, black leather of the airships from high above him as they moved away from the beaches and back towards the palace. The simple red war balloons retreated in a different direction, closer to where Zuko currently stood outside the prison with Momo still perched on his shoulder. Amber and green eyes watched the balloons make their descent some yards away in a large clearing. Momo pointed a white paw in the direction of the balloons and chirped with curiosity.

Zuko frowned at the flying air balloons, a hazy idea beginning to take shape in his mind.

"Momo," He murmured, a little concerned to be addressing a lemur, "Think you could distract some Fire Nation soldiers for me?"

* * *

Thank you as always to all my reviewers! And to those who said it YES i wanted sokka to take the place of the Katara in ATLA in his reactions to Zuko joining the group. Sorry for the lack of Zutara romance in this chapter, but I do love those high action episodes from the series, i very much wanted to write day of black sun. Thank you to my readers. I do not own avatar much as I wish I did.


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